


Dreams Do Come True

by DragonoftheEastblue



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Rewrite, F/M, Gen, Original Pairings - Freeform, Post-Volume 2 (RWBY), Romance, Volume 3 (RWBY), Volume 3 Rewrite (RWBY), world-building
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:48:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 237,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27322987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonoftheEastblue/pseuds/DragonoftheEastblue
Summary: Do you believe in destiny? I certainly do, and so do two young Huntsmen-in-training who are about to have their lives changed forever. A retelling of events from the end of the Beacon Dance where Jaune realizes and accepts Pyrrha's feelings, and takes the first step on a journey he never knew was waiting for him.Secret lineages that go beyond the boarders of Kingdoms, the history Remnant never uttered before, tales of Knights, Gods, Maidens, and Monsters, stories of love, loss, and hope. Dark forces gather and descend upon the world, leaving its warriors to gather to defend the innocent. The very survival of the races of Light hang in the balance. The Gods call for saviours; who will heed the call?Massive World-building with Canon-Restoration and Reconstruction.Arkos, Boop, BlackSun, Iceberg, and others.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Sun Wukong, Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Ozpin & Team JNPR, Ozpin & Team RWBY, Team JNPR & Team RWBY, Team JNPR & Team SSSN, Team RWBY & Team SSSN, Weiss Schnee/Neptune Vasilias
Comments: 42
Kudos: 43





	1. Setting Things Right

**Foreword**

Hello, Ao3. I'm DragonoftheEastblue, and this is both my first RWBY fanfic, and my first time writing on this website. I was on FF for a while before going dark for years, but it was my old friend Chapelseed who recommended I post my work here. I'm a little overwhelmed with the options thus far, but no doubt with practice I'll gain the necessary familiarity.

Before we begin, I want to state for the record my relationship with _RWBY_. While I was a die-hard Rooster Teeth fan at the time, I chose to ignore the show, for fear that it would be terrible, and I didn't want to blemish my view of Monty Oum. When I heard of his medical complications, I was certain he would recover. When he didn't, I decided to binge the first two volumes in mourning. By the end, I was in tears. I fell in love with the show, and I felt terrible that I didn't give it a chance. I was heavily invested at that point, though I was unsure of what would happen with the show; end it or go on without Monty? Learning that RT would continue with the show's production, I was cautiously optimistic.

I was hilariously naive.

Volume III hurt me, and Volume IV confirmed that the show was dead, crowning _RWBY_ the ultimate example of "death of the author". I walked away with a heavy heart, and began to reminisce and imagine what could have been. Over the years, I began to hear more and more horror stories of what was occurring, not just the show, but RT itself. I then made the prediction that the show/company would fold by the end of 2020, and while I wasn't entirely correct, the trajectory hasn't changed. I consider next to nothing past V2 as canon, which CRWBY seems to agree with, as they retcon whatever they can. And despite no longer thinking V3 onward as canon, what has happened since still hurts, as I honestly still care.

That is how we find ourselves with this little story. I decided to write this as a love letter to what Monty originally created. It was originally meant to honour Team JNPR, who have been treated terribly since V3, but then became a story to honour every character and the world. There will be many changes throughout the story, both small and major, for it borrows heavily from a complete rewrite in my head. I recommend paying close attention, for no change was made absentmindedly. And since V8 will very likely be the final volume before Warner/AT&T gives _RWBY_ /RT the axe, and Miles is no longer Head Writer, it seemed the right time to write this.

Brace yourselves, and I hope you enjoy this passion project.

** Chapter I: Setting Things Right **

The Beacon Dance concluded as well as anyone expected. The students enjoyed themselves, the guests felt welcome, and romance had begun to bud. Many Huntsmen and Huntress-in-training took advantage of the Dance to ask their teammates out as dates, to hopefully convey their growing feelings that always bloomed in teams such as these, as well as foreign students meeting their Valian counterparts. One such couple was Neptune and Weiss, whom may not have come together to the Dance, had clearly enjoyed each other's company, and had left together, arm in arm.

Another couple however, weren't so lucky. It was clear to nearly everyone who met Ren and Nora that they were together. How well they played off one another, communicated, and understood each other, made them appear to be a strong couple long since in love. But it was always a shock to learn that they were merely friends, even to their own companions. The truth of course was that the pair _were_ in love with one another. Spending nearly a decade together, without question had caused both Ren and Nora to fall for each other, but certainly there was more to it than that. While the couple hadn't confessed their feelings that night, their dancing and time alone had only deepened their feelings for one another. How much longer would they wait was only something the Gods knew.

One couple however, stole the entire show. When Jaune Arc strutted into the dance hall wearing a white dress that barely fit his tall frame, all heads turned in shock. None were as shocked as Pyrrha, who couldn't believe that her captain had kept his word. She couldn't contain her laughter at this realization, which the many onlookers had expected such a reaction. Who was this joker coming up to Pyrrha Nikos, a champion of Mistral, asking her to dance? Of course the partygoers had no clue that Jaune was her captain, as it seemed obvious that any team Pyrrha was a part of, would make her captain. They weren't wrong to think so, given the young woman's prestige, though they couldn't see what Pyrrha saw in him, as she shocked them when she accepted his proposal.

The two danced alongside their teammates to the surprise of the attendees, but surprised them further when they danced to several slow songs. Jaune and Pyrrha could not keep their eyes off one another as they swayed gracefully to the music along with the other dancers. Nora watched them mischievously, as she knew how much Pyrrha had fallen for their captain, and wasn't able to hold back a cheeky grin at the scarlet haired woman's blissful smile. Across the Dance floor were Neptune and Weiss, who were also keeping an eye on the unlikely couple. The white-haired woman didn't quite understand Pyrrha's attraction to Jaune, as she had found his advances and behaviour rather cringe worthy. And yet, she had to give the young man credit. By being himself, he was able to win over Pyrrha's heart without even trying. Furthermore, by going so far as to humiliate himself in front of a crowd, he now had her in his arms, smiling as if she was on her wedding day. Weiss had assumed Pyrrha would have gone after a warrior as mighty as herself, but if she wanted a man like Jaune, then who was she to judge? After all, that same man had convinced Neptune to take back his rejection, so perhaps a thank you and some respect was in order.

With the conclusion of the Dance, the couples were now going on their separate ways. The Beacon students were returning to their dorms, and the foreign students to their arraigned lodgings. Some had decided that the night was still young, either because they weren't first-year students, who would be sent on their first missions guided by veteran Huntsmen, or would gladly pay the cost of sleep for a few more hours of fun. One such couple was Sun and Blake. While initially rejecting Sun's request to the Dance, Blake had come around thanks to Yang's advice. She was having trouble admitting it, but she had enjoyed herself far more than she thought possible. Sun had proven himself to be far more of date and dance partner than she had assumed. He had given her his entire focus, and communicated through his eyes so clearly, that it was as if she was able to read his thoughts.

Blake wasn't blind to Sun's advances, and was quite aware that he was interested in her. Of course it wasn't as if Sun's feelings were a secret, as he was quite upfront and persistent; admittedly being more suave than Jaune had been with Weiss. Nevertheless, like Weiss, she had pushed him away, but not for the same reasons as her heiress friend. Blake had spent her entire life dedicated to the cause of the White Fang, before finally running away from her past. However, running away physically had not meant she had run mentally or spiritually, and was constantly haunted by her past actions. This had made her unable to trust people, fearing not only their discovery of her past, but the looming dread that she very well would have to run away once again. Why grow close to just have to betray them?

This made the idea of having a romantic relationship with someone even more impossible, and frightening. Relationships were built, held together, and strengthened by trust. If she could not trust her partner, then how in the names of the Gods could she have a meaningful relationship with him? These emotions were conflicting heavily within Blake, going against the new emotions that had been developing since she revealed herself to be a Faunus to her friends. She was beginning to feel as if she had finally found a place to belong. A place where she could trust and rely on people, united for a cause that wasn't so easy to pervert and darken. Now with Sun in the picture, her emotions were now in even greater turmoil, fueled by the fear that her past was now coming back to haunt her; this time with a vengeance.

The former guerrilla fighter had to admit to herself that she was very flattered by the Vacuo student's attention. She indeed did find Sun attractive, which she had done her best to suppress, along with revealing that his happy-go-lucky attitude and comedy was rather infectious. His free spirit and radiant smile made her feel special, in a way she had never felt before. Acknowledging that she had no real dating experience, given she had no time or interest in such things during her revolutionary days, having a boy to confidently and passionately court her, was as or perhaps even more exciting than was described in her novels. Her books were her only escape over the years, and began reading romance novels with many a prince charming like character would sweep the young lady off her feet. While Sun was no prince in shining armour riding on a white horse, he was still charming, genuine, and honest.

After the life Blake had led, honesty was something she dearly desired. And after such a wonderful night with Sun, who was now walking beside her arm in arm, perhaps now was the time she was waiting for to trust someone. She gently squeezed the crook of his arm to guide him away from the direction of the dorms, to now go for a stroll through the grounds. Since she had delayed her date with her hesitation, a few more moments might be in order to make up for it.

At last, the most popular couple of the night, walked slowly through the Beacon grounds, smiling, thoroughly pleased by the entertainment. And like some of the other couples, they decided that the night was not yet over, and things that were also far too delayed, needed to be made up for.

"Honestly Jaune, you didn't need to go so far as putting on a dress!" laughed Pyrrha.

"Hey, an Arc keeps his word. I wouldn't be able to look you in the eye if I didn't own up to my mistake" defended Jaune with a half serious half amused expression on his face.

"Well" she replied, returning with the same expression, "while over the top, the thought and public humiliation was very much appreciated. Thank you."

"You're very welcome, though it would only have been humiliating if you turned me down. Not to mention this dress wasn't easy to find, ya know."

"I could never turn you down, Jaune; especially after learning that you were such a skilled dancer" the redhead said warmly. "Though I have to ask, where in Remnant did you find a dress at this hour?"

The blond began to blush and scratched his cheek with his free hand.

"W-Well...I kinda had to buy one" he explained sheepishly. "I ran to all the clothing shops in town, hoping to find at least one that might still be open. Obviously they were all closed, but I was lucky enough to catch a shopkeeper that about to leave for the night, and convinced him that I needed a dress. I knew lying wasn't going to convince him, so I told him the truth, and got a pretty big laugh out of him. He somehow believed me and reopened his shop to find a dress that fit. I had to rush to get one in time, and this one was the best I could get on such short notice. When I offered to pay for it, he said that was free of charge so long as I return it tomorrow. I gave him all the money I had as a sort of down payment; just in case. I didn't think I had enough time to change twice so I ran back to the dorm in the dress, dropping my suit off, and got back to the Dance. Sorry to keep you waiting."

Pyrrha blinked at her captain's story in mute amazement, before becoming unable to contain her laughter.

"J-Jaune! To go through all that trouble!" she laughed covering her mouth with her hand, "Th-That's just too much!"

Jaune couldn't help but smile at his date. Though he wasn't exactly sure if she was laughing at him or with him, the sound of her laughter was so musical and warm-hearted, he didn't care which it was. Was her laugh always so beautiful, or was it only so obvious in the quiet night beneath the stars?

"For you, it's worth it. Even if it as a bit tight across the chest."

"Yes, it doesn't quite fit you" Pyrrha admitted regaining her composure, her eyes falling onto the young man's half exposed pecs.

Muscular athletic men were nothing new to Pyrrha, as not only she had see many during her bouts in the arenas, but it was nearly impossible to find a single Huntsman that wasn't in peek physical form. This meant that she had hardly been swayed by the attempts made to woo her during her days at Sanctum, as few as they were. But Jaune had not wooed her with sweet words or glistening muscles, but by being himself. His kind, innocent self was what had kindled the flame in her heart; so now to see that sweet young man's bare chest, was causing a blush to blossom on her cheeks.

"Perhaps we should turn in. We wouldn't want you to catch a cold right before the tournament" she added, though it pained her to bring this night to a premature end.

"I think I can handle a light breeze if it means spending more time with you tonight" replied Jaune, causing the heart of the young woman on his arm to skip a beat. "Besides, idiots don't catch colds, from what I hear."

This made Pyrrha frown. "Jaune, you're not an idiot."

The blond shrugged as he looked to the shattered moon that loomed overhead.

"I have to be to not notice that the most beautiful woman in Vale and Mistral wanted me to ask her out to the Beacon Dance; especially when she's on my team."

Butterflies immediately took flight in the Huntress-in-training's stomach.

'Is he... _flirting_ with me?' she asked herself in bewilderment. 'Where is this coming from all of a sudden?'

Indeed, this was certainly not normal behaviour coming from Jaune. Even during his attempts to court Weiss, he hadn't said such things with such certainty. Why was he doing this now?

The young captain didn't see the reaction his words had caused on Pyrrha's face, but likewise, Pyrrha couldn't see the reaction said words had caused on Jaune's.

'Damn, I just said that without thinking. There's no going back now is there?' he thought, his cheeks now several shades redder, knowing the gravity of his words.

That gravity was carried over by the powerful words Pyrrha had said to him when he had first spoken to her earlier in the evening.

_"Everyone assumes I'm too good for them. That I'm on a level they simply can't attain. It's become impossible to form any sort of meaningful relationship with people. That's what I like about you. When we met, you didn't even know my name. You treated me just like anyone else. And thanks to you, I've made friendships that will last a lifetime. I guess, you're the kind of guy I wish I was here with. Someone who just saw me for me."_

That had not simply been the words of a friend frustrated with her position. That was a _confession_. Pyrrha Nikos had _feelings_ for _him_. While he had treated her like a person and not a celebrity, he nevertheless had treated her as if she were unobtainable; so far out of his league that the idea of asking her was absurd. The reason he was wearing a dress in the first place was because he incorrectly assumed that Pyrrha had guys lining up to ask her to the Dance. Hearing her voice her frustrations, that being a celebrity had been the sharpest double-edged sword possible to carry, had cut Jaune deeply. Not only because he never realized what she had gone through, but that she valued him so greatly for treating her like a person over her accolades.

This only made things more confusing for him, however. Why in Remnant would one of the best Huntresses of their generation be interested in a man like himself? He could barely hold a sword, let alone fight competently, so why would someone like her even give him the time of day? That was the rational side of Jaune's mind of course, trying to justify his disbelief that Pyrrha wasn't be able to get a date for the Dance. The other side however brought back to every instance of Pyrrha taking time out of her day to help him, even after learning that he forged his records to get into Beacon Academy in the first place. But wasn't that such an insulting thing to both a Huntsman and a warrior? Was it not as if he had stolen a spot from a more capable Huntsman or Huntress?

These were the thoughts that had been flying through his mind as he ran to find a dress. It didn't make sense to Jaune that someone like Pyrrha would be interested in him. Placing the titles and achievements aside, the redhead was outrageously beautiful, kind, compassionate, humble, and caring. Those qualities alone, in his mind and certainly in the minds of those who looked upon them as they danced, made Pyrrha so far out of his league. Could he be blamed for thinking he had no chance? Eventually during his dash for a dress, two words came screaming to mind: Weiss Schnee. Why had he thought that the heiress of one of the most profitable and powerful companies in the world, was more obtainable than Pyrrha Nikos? He had spent the entire evening thinking on it, and honestly couldn't come up with any suitable answer.

It was when he was dancing with Pyrrha, gazing into her eyes that maybe, the answer to why she wanted him over some champion Huntsman or athlete, didn't really matter. Of course it _did_ matter in terms of his pride, but for right now, trying to rack his brain to figure out why such a woman wanted to be with him, was just being stupid. While it was true that he had absolutely no dating experience, he knew that now was the time to take action. Who knows when the next opportunity would come his way? He gently pulled his arm away from Pyrrha, allowing him to face her, which snapped her out of her own thoughts.

"Pyrrha...I'd like to ask you something..." he said slowly, though he wasn't able to make eye contact with the young woman. 'Damn it, my heart is racing. Why was this so much easier with Weiss? Gah, don't think about that now! Just do it! You can do this. You're an Arc, just look her in the eyes and-'

However, the moment he locked eyes with his date, he felt the words lodge themselves in his throat. Pyrrha was standing before him with her hands held together, and was looking at him with nervous anticipation. Her beautiful green eyes seemed to Jaune as if they were sparkling like starlight, with her cheeks lightly painted with blush, complimenting her carnelian coloured hair. In that very moment, Pyrrha became the most beautiful woman that Jaune had ever seen.

"Yes?" she asked, sensing that his question had nothing to do with fighting or Aura.

'Why didn't I notice before?' the blond asked himself. He had obviously always known how beautiful Pyrrha was, but now, she seemed to be on an entirely different level. Of course there were many things he hadn't noticed, either out of pure ignorance or self doubt, but now he had to make things right.

"I was wondering if..." he began, scratching the back of his head in nervousness. 'Keep it together, damn it!' he cursed himself, the sound of his heart pounding in his ears, only adding to his anxiety. 'Don't keep her waiting any longer.'

"If...um..." Jaune looked to his left, no longer able to maintain his gaze.

_"Then do it. Tell her exactly what you said. No ridiculous schemes, no pick-up lines. Just...be honest."_

_"But what if-"_

_"Jaune, you can't get if wrong if it's the truth."_

"Gahh! I'm so bad at this!" he grumbled, rubbing the back of his head furiously, before looking back at Pyrrha, and holding the back of his neck. "Pyrrha Nikos" he straightened his back, "when the tournament is over...would you...like to catch a movie, or something?"

The redhead was silent for moment, almost as if she hadn't understood what had been said. But then the worried expression on her face began to melt into the warmest and most radiant smile Jaune had ever seen.

"I would love to" she replied softly.

Her smile was contagious, causing a sheepish grin to spread across Jaune's face, as he breathed a sigh of relief. The couple gazed at each other lovingly for a little while, taking in the moment, as they knew their lives had just changed forever, before a cold wind blew through the grounds.

"We should return to our dorms. We'll have to get up early tomorrow" said Pyrrha. "And you might catch that cold after all."

"Ha! Yeah, you're right" agreed Jaune. He held out his hand, which Pyrrha took gladly, and the couple began to walk to their dormitories, fingers interlaced.

λΛλ

Jaune and Pyrrha reached their dorm rooms, which were next to each other, hand in hand. They were both reluctant to end the night, for it felt as if time had passed too soon, but they knew that the following day was going to be a busy one.

"Thank you for such a lovely night, Jaune" said Pyrrha standing before her door, still smiling warmly. "I'm sorry for all the trouble you had to go through."

"Hey, there's no need to apologize" the blond replied, also smiling. "If putting on a dress got you to forgive me and not turn me down, I'd say it was worth it."

Pyrrha blushed at his honesty. "Well, while it did work in your favour, I personally prefer you in a suit."

Jaune laughed. "I'll keep that in mind for next time." He looked down for a moment, his smiling fading slightly. "Though, this does feel so surreal. I saw how everyone was looking at us at the Dance, like I had no right to be with you. I guess that's about right, as I also did exactly what you hate, place you on a pedestal and not even consider asking you to be my date. I know admitting this isn't going to come across great, but I can't help but feel undeserving. Not noticing your feelings until you got fed up and told me directly, brushing off your comments...you said I saw you for you, but I didn't when you needed me to most..."

Pyrrha's smile faded, but only slightly. She understood what Jaune was trying to say, and what he was feeling. He may have kept his word, believing it was the right thing to do after being wrong, but the guilt hadn't left him so easily. He felt as if she had forgiven him too quickly, that what he had done was so insulting to her, that more needed to be done to make things right. Unbeknownst to her captain, his continued honesty only deepened her love for him.

"Jaune..." she said calmly, yet assertively, and placed her right hand on his cheek, causing him to look back up at her. "If I thought you not realizing that I had feelings for you, was so grievous that it couldn't be forgiven, why would I have said yes to a second date?" Jaune remained silent, but breathed out of his nose sharply, indicating he realized he was over thinking things again. "I think you are more than deserving. I think you are _exactly_ what I've been looking for."

Without hesitation, she leaned forward and kissed him on his right cheek, causing both of them to flush, and his eyes to widen. Pyrrha's own cheeks had turned red, and her smile had returned to its full radiance, clearly pleased with the blond's reaction.

"Good night, Jaune."

"Night..." he replied, now possessing a warm smile of his own.

Pyrrha opened the door of her room and entered, but kept her gaze with the young man as she closed it, just to keep the moment going for just a few seconds longer. Even with the door closed, Jaune remained outside, staring at the door as if he could still see the beautiful young woman who had just taken his breath away. He then looked up to the ceiling and sighed, before chuckling and shaking his head in disbelief.

"I am _so_ over my head..." he said to himself, rubbing the back of his neck once again, before returning to look at Pyrrha's room one last moment. Keeping a smile on his face, he finally grasped the knob of the door to his own room and entered, determined not to mess things up.

λΛλ

Pyrrha's heart was racing as she stood on the opposite side of the door, unable to believe she had just done that. But she wasn't sorry that she had. Jaune had finally taken notice of her, accepted her feelings, and asked her on a date. She had never felt so nervous, happy, terrified, and exliherated in all her life. She leaned against the door, tilting her head so that it rested on it, eyes shut and smiling as if it was all she knew how to do. It was as if she were on top of the world.

"Well now..." came a sly voice, causing the Mistralese champion to jump to her right. To her left was her teammate Nora, already in her pajamas, lying on her side with her head resting on her right palm, and a shit-eating grin plastered on her face. "...someone looks like they had a great time tonight."

"Nora! You scared the daylights out of me!"

"Did you then?" the ginger asked, ignoring the previous comment.

"Yes, I did."

"Aaaaand?"

Pyrrha blushed, "Jaune asked me out."

"Yay!" cheered Nora, leaping to her feet and hugged her friend tightly. "I'm so happy for you! So..." she continued, pulling out of the hug, but kept her hands on Pyrrha's shoulders, "did anything else happen?"

"...I kissed him; on the cheek!" she replied, making sure to quickly add the last detail, knowing what kind of reaction it would get from her friend.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaand?" Nora asked again.

"That's all."

"Really?!...boring."

"Nora!" Pyrrha gasped incredulously, pushing past her to reach the armoire and begin disassembly her evening wear. "Honestly, what were you expecting for us to do so soon?"

"Probably what a _lot_ of other students are doing right now" she admitted, sitting back on her bed, and reaching for her Scroll.

"W-Well they can what they wish" replied Pyrrha, placing her earrings into their box, slightly flustered. "Such things are far too soon for us. You should have seen how nervous Jaune was while trying to ask me out. Furthermore, we haven't even kissed yet."

"And whose fault is that?" asked Nora playfully, sending her text. "Could have kissed him properly instead of on the cheek."

'Maybe' thought the redhead. "I feel there is something special between Jaune and myself. I want this relationship to work, so we'll be taking it one step at a time. I don't want to rush things, nor does Jaune, which I'm sure is why he asked me on a date _after_ the tournament." 

"Hmmm, that's true" agreed Nora, eyeing the reply to her text, "not to mention that you're probably his first girlfriend. That would explain his nervousness; if you kissed him it would be his first kiss too."

The Mistral champion wiped away some of her makeup before responding.

"It would be mine as well" Pyrrha admitted softly, but not regretfully.

The ginger looked up from her Scroll and saw the blissful look on her friend's face. It took her a moment to remember that Pyrrha was just as inexperienced as Jaune, as her status in Mistral had kept anyone from asking her out. Nora watched her teammate carefully, and observed her removing the rest of her makeup, clearly delving into her own thoughts of the past few hours. It was now easy to understand that Pyrrha wasn't merely crushing on their captain, but was falling deeply in love with him.

Nora grinned devilishly. "You two are _so_ adorable" she cooed playfully.

Pyrrha turned to her left and squinted at the girl with pursed lips.

"I don't want to hear such comments comings from _you_. What did _you_ do when you left the Dance? Did you and Ren go off to kiss, away from prying eyes?" she asked, sticking her tongue out.

Nora snorted at Pyrrha's sudden act of childishness, and looked away with flushed cheeks.

"No, we just came back to our rooms. No kissing or anything like that. Still..." she admitted disappointingly.

The redhead's gaze softened into one of pity, seeing her friend's frustration. She rose from her chair and walked to Nora's bed, seating herself to her right.

"You didn't tell him?" she asked.

Nora sighed. "No, I couldn't. It just didn't feel right."

Pyrrha frowned. "What do you mean? _He_ was the one who asked you to the Dance. Did Ren not make any kind of sign that he wanted to take things further?"

"Not at all" confirmed the ginger, bringing her knees to her chest and folded her arms onto them. "I think he asked me because it was the _obvious_ choice, which _would_ make me happy if I knew he had feelings for me. We're friends so going together made sense, I guess." Nora sighed again and buried her face into her thighs, pressing her forehead into her arms in defeat. "I don't know anymore."

Pyrrha gently placed her left hand on the ginger's shoulder.

"Don't think that way. There will be another chance to tell him how you feel" she said reassuringly.

"I've been telling myself that _every_ time I couldn't. Every time I look at him, and I feel the words building inside me, my stomach does flips, my heart races, my knees get weak, and then...I can't. All I'm able to say is 'boop' and tap him on the nose to hide all the emotions raging inside me" Nora explained, not lifting her head. "Maybe Ren just sees me as family and not as a woman."

Pyrrha remained silent. She had always been able to sense her teammate's frustration with her situation with Ren, but she had not realized it had grown to this level. Admittedly, she had been preoccupied being frustrated with her own boy problems, but the talks they previously had, hadn't revealed how deeply the discouragement was entrenched. To Pyrrha, Nora's discontent was very similar to her own as a celebrity, feeling as if she were underwater and gasping for air, but having to pretend she was sailing.

"You don't know that for certain, Nora" she said at last. "I can speak openly that everyone, and I do mean _everyone_ , believes that both of you are already a couple. I thought that the moment I met you both, Jaune thought that-"

"Yeah, I was in the room when he asked about that. That was awkward" laughed the ginger half-heartedly.

"But do you see what I'm getting at? People around you interpret how you two bounce off one another, as evidence of a strong loving relationship. Does that not say something about Ren? I'll be honest; I was initially shocked that someone so full of energy like yourself, was with someone so docile as Ren. And as soon as the thought was in my mind, I saw Ren be right up to speed. I knew right away there was something special between the both of you. I think you're not giving him as much credit as he deserves."

Nora lifted her head and looked at her friend sheepishly.

"Maybe...but I'd like to have _some_ idea that he might feel something more. I don't wear my skirt that short for nothing, ya know" she mumbled, playing with her hair, embarrassed. "I'd hope I'd catch him checking me out, but I haven't yet."

Pyrrha covered her mouth as she began to giggle.

"Well, Jaune and I will keep a look out for you when he does."

This finally got Nora to smile, and playfully nudged her friend with her elbow.

"Thanks, Pyrrha" she said genuinely. The hammeress remained silent for a moment, before looking at her teammate. "Did I ever tell you when I fell in love with Ren?" she asked. Pyrrha shook her head gently, so Nora rested her chin on her forearms and began to speak.

"It was about ten years ago. I don't have any memory of my parents, and I grew up on the streets, wandering from place to place, before I finally found myself in a village called Kuroyuri. I was scavenging around for food one day, and found a loaf of bread, right before I was surrounded by a group of boys. They bullied and attacked me, which happened at lot back then, but then out of nowhere, Ren and his father appeared and scared them off. It was rare that anyone would bother to help me, so I got scared and ran away.

Not long after, the village was attacked by the Grimm. I hid under a house during the attack, hoping that I wouldn't be found. Then Ren appeared again. He seemed like he wasn't afraid at all, and told me to be brave while being surrounded by monsters. I only learned later that he was using his Semblance to cloak us from the Grimm. He found a wooden mallet on the ground and gave it me, promising that we would keep each other safe. He had such a warm and calming smile on his face, and despite what had just happened, I felt completely safe with him.

That's when I fell in love with him. He's been my family for all these years, and I couldn't imagine being with anyone else other than him. He's the bravest man I have ever known."

Pyrrha listened to her friend's story intently, and was shocked to hear how horrible Nora and Ren's past were. Neither had shared any details other than they had been together since they were children, but them being orphaned due to a Grimm attack, had not been at the forefront of her theories. A small piece of guilt began to develop in her stomach in comparing their upbringing to her own, but she also quickly gained a new level respect for her teammates. However, despite the darkness of Nora's story, Pyrrha noticed the warmness in the ginger's turquoise eyes and smile. Her love for Ren was now fully on display, and her smile was so infectious, that it made the redhead smile herself.

"You two are _so_ adorable" she echoed, nudging her with her elbow.

"Shut up!" snorted Nora, pushing Pyrrha back with a good shove. Pyrrha laughed as she toppled to her side, and quickly grabbed Nora's pillow, swiftly whacking her across the face. The thunderess recoiled but quickly recovered from the blow, a wild grin on her face and a twinkle in her eye. "Oh, we're grabbing weapons, huh?" she asked, jumping to her feet and cracking her knuckles in excitement.

"Wait! Now we might be taking things too far!" laughed Pyrrha, holding up her hand in surrender. "Though, I'm saying that for the sake of my dress, more than for myself."

"Aww..." sighed Nora, slumping over in disappointment. The redhead laughed again as she rose to her feet, while the ginger face planted onto her bed, and reached for her Scroll once more.

Pyrrha finally finished removing the rest of her eveningwear, and changed into a pair of golden brown pajamas.

"I firmly believe" she began, letting her hair down, "that Ren feels the same way about you. I think that being here at Beacon, surrounded by friends, he'll take notice, if not feel that the time has come to confess. In the meantime, I'll get Jaune to get any information possible out of him."

Nora looked up at her teammate, and smiled sincerely.

"Thank you, Pyrrha" she said gratefully, "that means a lot. I owe you one."

"Don't mention it. What are friends for?" the redhead replied smiling back. "It's getting late. Try to get some sleep."

"Same. Night, Pyrrha."

"Good night, Nora."

Both girls tucked themselves into bed, with Pyrrha switching off the lights before turning over to her right. However, she opened her eyes as she immediately became distracted by a new light source hitting the wall on her side of the room.

"Put your Scroll away, Nora. We have to get up early tomorrow" she said in a false scolding tone.

"Just give me a sec" Nora said back, typing quickly.

"Nora..."

"OK, _moooom_ " she whined, throwing her bed sheets over her head to dampen the light.

Pyrrha giggled at the girl's childishness, and closed her eyes, pressing her cheek into her pillow with satisfaction. The images of the night's events replayed in her mind on repeat, warming her cheeks, and easing her gently into a deep and blissful sleep; the handsome face of her blond captain being the last image she saw.

λΛλ

While the girls were having their conversation, Jaune had entered his room smiling, and closed the door behind him.

"Things went well, I take it?" asked a voice.

Jaune looked to his right and saw Ren sitting on his bed, dressed in a simple light green t-shirt and matching pajama bottoms, reading a book.

"Yeah, they did" Jaune replied, maintaining his smile from earlier. "I asked Pyrrha out, and she said yes."

Ren looked up from his book and gave his captain a small but endearing smile.

"Very good, Jaune. I am glad you came around."

The blond laughed. "Thanks, man, but I don't want to hear _you_ of all people talking about how long it took me to notice a girl's feelings. Especially since you and Nora aren't 'together-together'; whatever that means" he shot back, making air-quotes with his fingers, as he walked to his bed and began removing his dress.

His back was turned, so he was unable to see Ren's smile fade, and his eyes return to his book, but was not actually reading.

"Speaking of which" continued Jaune, struggling with his dress, "what _does_ that mean exactly? Not being together-together?"

Ren did not answer right away, as his Scroll buzzed, forcing him to quickly reply and hide it so not to appear rude. He then placed a bookmark in his book and closed it, before giving Jaune his full attention.

"What do you think it means?" he asked at last.

"Umm..." thought the blond, unsure of how to correctly phrase his response. "...friends with benefits?"

Jaune had looked over his shoulder to deliver his comment, and was shocked to see Ren glaring at him. While they hadn't known each other for long, this was the first time he had ever seen his teammate with a genuine look of ire.

"Absolutely not" Ren said coldly.

"Whoa whoa wait!" protested the swordsman, waving his hands defensively. "I'm not saying that I _actually_ believe that! I meant that it just _sounds_ like it does. Everyone thinks you guys were already together, me included, so it's weird that Nora said that you guys are together but not 'together' together. You get what I'm saying?"

Ren's glare softened as he exhaled through his nose.

"Yes, I do" he said sighing, looking downward. "I'm sorry."

Jaune continued to observe his subordinate worryingly, as there were new emotions bubbling to the surface, and manifesting in Ren's eyes.

"Don't worry about it" he reassured, "It's my fault for wording it badly. I never meant to offend or insult you."

"I know you didn't. I just don't like the idea that people would think that Nora and I would be engaging in such a selfish relationship. Nora is not that kind of girl" explained Ren, folding his arms as he leaned against the wall.

Jaune paused for a moment, before pressing further.

"So may I ask _what_ kind of relationship do you and Nora have? Cuz like I said, everyone thinks you guys are just dating like any normal couple. It's only because of how Nora explained it that makes me confused" he reasoned.

The dark haired Huntsman-in-training sighed and closed his eyes.

"It's...complicated..." he admitted, sounding tired; as if this had been eating away at him for a long time.

The blond continued to look at him, waiting for some form of answer. The fact that Ren was beating around the bush made him even more curious. If they were just friends, then both of them would have come out and said it. However, it was obvious to Jaune that Nora was in love with him, so perhaps Ren was aware of this, and wasn't sure of how to go about it.

The silence between the two had now grown from a pregnant pause to an awkward one, leaving Jaune with the feeling that he may have finally overstepped a line, and the conversation was now over. 

"I'm gonna go take a shower now...yeah..." he said at last, gesturing with both index fingers to the bathroom door to his left. He finally succeeded in undoing the dress, and placed in on a chair, before reaching for the knob of the bathroom door.

"Ten years" said Ren quietly, halting his captain.

"What?" Jaune asked.

"Nora and I have been together for ten years" he repeated, his eyes now open and looking at the blond with a sombre expression.

Jaune blinked in surprise. "That's a long time, Ren. But that doesn't exactly answer my question."

Ren's eyes dropped to his knees and took a deep breath before speaking.

"Nora and I have been traveling across the Kingdom on our own for a decade. We've drifted from town to town, doing our best to survive. We first met in my home village where she was living on the streets, stealing food to live. When my village was attacked by the Grimm, none were left alive, safe for the both of us. By some miracle I activated my Semblance, and managed to get to her, shielding ourselves from the horde. That is what my Semblance does. Tranquility dampens my emotions, thus shields me from the Grimm, effectively turning me invisible to them. Ever since then, we promised to protect one another. We've been by each other's side through thick and thin, never straying far and never wishing to. Essentially, we're family."

Jaune swallowed in mute shock at his friend's story. The man had always been the quiet type, and spoke very little on any matter, let alone of his past. Jaune had naively assumed that he and Nora were just childhood friends, having grown up together and naturally became so close as a consequence. But now learning of the truth, Jaune began to feel deep remorse and pity for them. For them to have gone through something so traumatic, and remain so upbeat, showed the blond just how strong his new friends truly were. A profound respect for the pair quickly emerged from the depth of Jaune's soul, and was more grateful than he could express to have the both of them under his command.

He walked to Ren's bed and sat next to him, placing a hand on his right shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Ren. I had no idea."

Ren nodded understandingly, and glanced at his friend.

"There's no need to apologize. You could not have known."

"I couldn't have even guessed, but I guess I now get what Nora meant by not being together-together. If you see each other like family, then it makes sense how close you two are" Jaune reasoned. 'Wait...that doesn't add up' he thought. 'Nora is clearly in love with Ren, so even if they _have_ been together this long, and have looked after one another as if they're family, _she_ clearly still sees him as a man. So what about Ren?'

" _Do_ you see her like a sister?" he asked directly.

Ren looked away, hesitant to answer the question, which was already serving as an answer to his team captain.

"I..." he began slowly, "...don't know..."

Jaune tilted his head in intrigue, 'Now we're getting somewhere'. "Are you in love with her?" he asked bluntly.

Ren hesitated again, unable to establish eye contact with Jaune, and only repeated "I don't know..."

He closed his eyes, causing every memory he had with the ginger hammeress, to come flooding through his mind. Every laugh, every smile, every tear, all came into his mind's eye with crystal clarity. Then the memory of Nora when she was a child, crying and hiding under one of the destroyed houses, came into view. That image had been etched into his very soul, for he hated it with every fiber of his being. He hated seeing Nora cry, thus that memory served as fuel for his drive to protect her, at all costs. He could never forgive himself if harm like that would ever come to her again.

"Ren?" asked Jaune, noticing that his friend seemed to be a thousand miles away. "Ren?"

The young dark haired man finally came back to the present upon hearing his name a second time. He looked at Jaune in momentary confusion, before remembering where he was and what they had been discussing.

"I'm sorry, I was just lost in my own thoughts" he confessed.

"Yeah, I figured. If you don't want to talk about it further..."

"No..." sighed Ren, "I'd like to share this with you. You came to me for advice before, so now I would like to ask you the same." He waited for Jaune to nod before speaking again. "What I feel for Nora...is not something that I can explain in words. For so long she's been by my side, that I couldn't imagine a day that she wouldn't be. It feels as if she's a part of me, one that I'm always afraid of losing. Nora is my entire world."

There was a momentary silence between the two boys, before Jaune smirked and clapped Ren on the back, startling him.

"I may be pretty bad with girls, but it's clear to me that you're totally in love with her" he said confidently. Ren looked up at him in surprise, his cheeks lightly tinged with pink.

"I..." he began, trying to form a coherent sentence, but his mind was now filled of images of Nora smiling.

"Oh don't act like this is some earth shattering revelation!" Jaune shot back impishly. "You probably fell for her years ago and didn't even realize; that or you didn't have someone like me around to point it out."

Ren cleared his throat. "That is a tad rich coming from you" he said, regaining most of his composure.

"Yeah, that's fair," admitted the swordsman, "but I'm still right." Ren sighed, causing his captain to laugh. "Oh c'mon! This is a good thing! And I'm damn sure that she feels the same way. Why are you looking even more gloomy than usual?"

Ren leaned against the bedroom wall once again, and inhaled deeply before replying.

"Because of what I feel for Nora...makes me feel undeserving of loving her" he said sadly. This caused Jaune to snap into a sharp focus, keeping his eyes locked onto his friend, who seemed to not notice. "I promised Nora years ago that I would protect her, and she promised she would do the same for me. That was how we built our relationship; with trust and support. It's what's kept us alive. And then came the day Nora discovered her Semblance. Do you know how? She was hit by lightning. She was climbing a tall apple tree while a storm was coming, and when he reached the top, she was hit with a bolt. I was watching her climb, and saw her get hit, throwing her out of the tree and crashing to the ground. I hadn't been that terrified since the attack on my village. I ran to her, praying that was alive, and was shocked to see her immediately wake up and stand, as if nothing had happened.

From then onward, Nora began to grow stronger at an incredible rate. She became stronger, faster, and more durable, making it seem she were indestructible. I was so proud of her, seeing her grow from a scared child to a smiling, fearless young teenager. But I quickly saw how much of a gap was growing between us. We would train together, and I could never beat her. No matter how hard I trained, all I could do was watch her soar, and feel as if I was being left behind. It's why we wanted to become Huntsmen; so we could become stronger and fight evil together. We wanted to never be helpless again. But how could I help her, protect her, when I myself, was helpless? And now being on this team, has only cemented how far behind I have fallen. Nora and Pyrrha are warriors through and through, excelling in combat. While you haven't discovered your Semblance, it will undoubtedly benefit you on the battlefield. My Semblance however" he explained, opening his left hand and turning over his palm, flowing Aura into it, "is not meant to be used in open battle. And that is what I'm afraid of. I'm afraid that a day will come where she'll need me to defend her, and I won't be able to. And the thought of that happening, her getting hurt or worse because of my weakness, fills me with..." he finished, clenching his fist tightly, "rage."

Jaune stared at Ren in shock. He hadn't said a word during the entirety of his friend's monologue; how on earth could he? Ren was a very quiet young man, rarely speaking more than a few sentences, or raise his voice, unless he needed to keep Nora in check. So to hear him speak for so long uninterrupted, and with his emotions on display, was bizarre and unexpected. Furthermore, Ren had never spoken about his past. Jaune had assumed he and Nora had grown up together, but as childhood friends and classmates, not homeless orphans. Hearing him now completely open up, in context to his past, to in the short run a complete stranger, was deeply humbling and eye opening.

What surprised Jaune the most however, was that Ren was feeling the same emotions he was. As on top of the world as he felt knowing that Pyrrha had feelings for him, he couldn't for the life of him, understand why. He was a terrible fighter and leader, who lied to get into Beacon. She knew all of that, and yet still wanted to be with him, despite being one of the best warriors of their generation. "Undeserving" was exactly how Jaune would phrase his feelings.

"I'm being ridiculous, aren't I?" asked Ren, letting his fist fall, slightly weary.

"No, you're not" replied Jaune, pausing a moment before answering. "I get exactly what you mean about not feeling worthy. I feel the same way with Pyrrha."

"Why? You don't have the history with her, as I do with Nora, so why would you think that?"

Jaune sighed, knowing that what he had to tell Ren could change how he thought of him.

"You're right" the blond began, "I don't have a decade of history with Pyrrha. In fact, I have no history at all...I forged my transcript to get into Beacon." Ren's eyes widened, it now being his turn to not have expected his teammate to admit a secret. "Pyrrha is absolutely amazing" continued Jaune. "She's beautiful and kind and incredibly talented, and just like you said, a warrior through and through. So why would she want to be with a guy like me, who can't fight worth a damn? Even after I told her the truth, she _still_ stood by me, helping me train, and agreeing to go out with me.

I'm having the same thoughts you are; about not being able to protect her. And what makes things even worse, is that I'm the leader of this team. Not only do I have to worry about Pyrrha, but you and Nora as well. I'm supposed to make hard decisions in the field, keep it cool under pressure, and lead you guys to victory. How am I supposed to do all of that, when I can barely hold my sword? I'm constantly plagued with doubt, and I'm afraid of making mistakes, since they could cost someone their life. I keep thinking of how Pyrrha would make a much better captain, and how I don't understand _why_ Huntmaster Ozpin chose me over her. Maybe because JNPR sounds better than PNJR; whatever word that makes.

But I realized something tonight. I can't keep thinking as if there is nothing I can do to change for the better. Feelings sorry for myself, and as I currently am, is not only a waste of energy, but the worst possible habit I could have. Pyrrha likes and supports me, you consider me like a brother, and Nora has followed my orders without question since the get-go. I'm going to use the faith you guys have in me to fuel my drive to improve as both a warrior and a leader. I think you should do the same. Nora loves you, and I don't believe for a second she thinks of you as deadweight. And I'm certain there's more to your Semblance than just controlling emotions. We'll figure it out together, and we'll both grow as Huntsman; myself for Pyrrha, and you for Nora. Together, got it?"

Ren looked into his captain's eyes with amazement. He saw his determination as clear as the shattered moon, and realized that the Jaune he had come to know over the past several months, was beginning to give way to a more confident and focused one. He could see that the blond had meant every word, and how profoundly he had been affected by Pyrrha's love. Furthermore, Jaune had completely understood his feelings, and that was something that made Ren more grateful than he could ever express in words alone.

"Got it. Thank you, Jaune" he replied, closing his eyes and bowing his head slightly in gratitude, a small but content smile on his face.

"Don't sweat it" Jaune said smirking, punching his friend on the arm puckishly. "On a lighter note, I've got a question for you." Ren nodded, allowing the swordsman to proceed, "I know that Nora's been like family to you, but she's a very pretty girl. You _must_ have realized that and checked her out over the years, right?"

The normally composed Huntsman-in-training swallowed nervously, as the question began to tint his cheeks pink.

"W-Well..." he tried to say, not being able to maintain eye contact. A roguish grin began to form on Jaune's face as he saw how the question was affecting his teammate, and eagerly awaited for his response. Ren coughed skittishly and shifted his sitting position slightly. "Nora...um...has very distracting legs" he admitted at last.

Jaune snorted before doubling over from laughter.

"What?" demanded Ren, becoming more flustered by the second.

"It's nothing! It's just funny seeing how nervous you are admitting this" reassured Jaune.

Ren huffed, folding his arms. "Well, it isn't as if I've ever had the company to discuss such things" he shot back poignantly.

"That I know. I grew up with seven sisters, the rest of our team are the girls in question, and Team RWBY is all girls. But you don't have to be so shy, dude; Pyrrha's got great legs too."

"True, but she doesn't go barelegged like Nora does. She's been wearing that skirt for almost two years now and it's _very_ distracting."

"Hey, Pyrrha's thigh-highs don't leave much to the imagination, either" the blond pointed out. He then tilted his head slightly. "So you think Nora is beautiful?"

"Very much so" Ren replied nodding.

Jaune placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Then tell her."

"Not...not yet."

"I know this is incredibly hypocritical coming from me, but you shouldn't make a girl wait. And if telling her how you feel about her it too much for now, then at least say that you think she's beautiful. Just a word or two like that could make all the difference in the world. _That_ you can take to the bank" Jaune advised confidently.

Ren looked at his captain suspiciously, but knew that he was right.

"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you again, Jaune."

Jaune smirked. "Hey, what are bros for? Now if you don't mind, I'm gonna go take that shower, as having such a heart-to-heart conversation in my underwear is starting to get real awkward. OK? OK."

With that, the blond tapped Ren's shoulder twice, before getting to his feet and waltzing to the bathroom.

As soon as the door closed, Ren chuckled slightly and shook his head. He replayed the conversation he had just had as he pulled the covers of his bed back, and slipped under them. He then felt something under his elbow, and realized that his Scroll was still where he had hidden it. He pulled it from under his pillow with his left hand, while resting his head in his right, and noticed that Nora had responded to his earlier message.

_Nora: Pyrrha just came back. Jaune asked her out finally! She's over the moon!_

_Ren: I know. Jaune just told me, and he seems pretty beside himself._

_Nora: Awesome! She's so in love with him too. They make such a cute couple, don't they?_

Ren began to type a reply, as he had become entirely invested with his conversation with Jaune, that he completely forgotten he had been speaking to Nora.

_Ren: I'm sorry, I was speaking with Jaune. Yes, they certainly do. He thinks the world of her, and feels incredibly lucky that she has feelings for him._

_Nora: It's ok, I was talking with Pyrrha. Awww, they're so cute! They won't be going on their date till after the tournament though, but we have plenty of time to tease them now ;)_

Ren smirked at her mischievousness.

_Ren: Be nice, Nora._

_Nora: Nyuuuuh!_

Ren audibly laughed at her text, clearing hearing her protest in his mind, as if she was standing before him. He stared at their conversation quizzically, new emotions growing in his heart. Nora's enthusiasm for Jaune and Pyrrha, was causing him to feel something he had never felt before: jealousy. He was jealous that his captain and lieutenant had become a couple, and how they could openly talk about their feelings. Of course if he admitted this to Jaune, the blond would without a doubt begin to grill him that if he just told Nora how he felt, there would be no need to feel jealous. There was truth to this of course, but for now, he began to recall a more fitting piece of advice.

_"I know this is incredibly hypocritical coming from me, but you shouldn't make a girl wait. And if telling her how you feel about her it too much for now, then at least say that you think she's beautiful. Just a word or two like that could make all the difference in the world. **That** you can take to the bank."_

Ren took a deep breath before typing out what could either be a very good idea, or a disastrous one, before hesitantly pressing send.

_Ren: Speaking of nice, I had a nice time tonight. You looked very beautiful in your dress._

He was incredibly nervous sending the message to Nora, and his nerves were straining by the second, as she was taking longer than usual to reply. He stared at the bottom of his Scroll, waiting for her response, his heart beginning to race. For a moment, Ren thought about activating his Semblance to calm himself, but it felt as if that would be cheating. So he continued to sit and wait, nearly unblinking.

On the opposite side of the dorm wall, Nora saw Ren's message appear, and her eyes immediately widened.

'Where is this coming from?' she asked herself, a strong blush blossoming from her cheeks. 'Is it because he was talking with Jaune? Is this really happening?'

The ginger read the message over several times until she convinced herself that it was indeed what her crush had written. The question that was now racing through her mind, was what in Remnant was she supposed to say back? Yeah, you look great too, sexy? Of course there was no way, as she knew she'd pass out before the message reached Ren's Scroll. Nora took a deep breath to steady herself, before composing her reply, stared at it, and slowly pressed the send button.

Ren tensed as soon as Nora's reply appeared on screen, but breathed a sigh of relief when he saw what it said.

_Nora: Thank you, Ren. That's really sweet of you. I had a really great time, too. You looked handsome in your suit._

The dark haired Huntsman-in-training bowed his head and shut his eyes; a small but warm smile now spreading across his face. He then looked back at his Scroll, and began typing a reply.

_Ren: You're welcome, and thank you. I hope I wasn't a boring date and dance partner._

_Nora: Boop. Don't be silly. You were great, and amazing at dancing as always. Maybe we should go dancing more often._

Ren's heart skipped a beat at the last message, but his thumbs were already typing his response.

_Ren: That would be fun. Hopefully we will have time off soon._

_Nora: Bleh, that means after the tournament if not the festival :P School and Hunting takes up sooo much time!_

_Ren: Speaking of which, we should go to bed. We have to get up early tomorrow._

_Nora: Nyuuuh fine. Good night, Ren! Sleep well! Boop!_

_Ren: Good night, Nora. Same to you._

Ren placed his Scroll on his bed stand, and lay on his side, facing the wall. He shut his eyes but continued to smile peacefully, allowing the drowsiness to wash over him. On the other side of the wall, Nora was rereading their conversation, and beamed. She closed her Scroll and nuzzled into her pillow, felling as if she were on cloud nine.

'I love you' she said in her mind, and slowly drifted into a blissful sleep filled with pancakes and a handsome young chief making them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the first chapter! I hope it's piqued your interest, and will hold it till the end. Happy Halloween and Carpe Noctem!
> 
> Oh, and speaking of never-ending horror, just in case I don't post the next chapter before the start of V8, I might as well give my predictions. Ironwood is going to die, Jacques will die, Oscar will probably die, Ren might die, Wasp will become canon, and then the company will go under.
> 
> I hope that this fic will be refuge for all ye heartbroken fans.


	2. No Good Deed

The following morning was a beautiful one, though its beauty was appreciated differently by each member of Teams RWBY and JNPR. Ruby and Yang would have preferred to have slept in, as they were still not used to waking so early. Blake awoke feeling rested for the first time in a while, but was a tad reluctant to leave her warm bed. Weiss was the best off, and was already preparing for the coming day.

Team JNPR was in a similar situation. Nora was too engrossed with her dreams of Ren and food to be roused, even with Pyrrha, who woke rested and full of energy, doing her best to wake her. Ren had awoken earlier than the both of them, but only because he had been disturbed by Jaune preparing to leave their dorm, intending to return the dress he had hastily borrowed the night before.

Eventually, the two teams made their way to the Beacon dining hall, in various states of consciousness. Sitting across from one another, they each began to eat their breakfasts while discussing the previous night.

"Well, last night was fun" said Yang, biting into a piece of toast.

"Yes, it was" agreed Weiss, sipping her tea, "minus all the foibles planning the event, everything turned out well."

"And whose fault was that?" the blonde asked coyly.

"Excuse me? You were the one was trying to turn the Dance into a rave!"

"But not _every_ dance is a formal ball, Weiss!"

"My entire life has been formal balls and gatherings, therefore I brought that experience to organizing this one" defended the Ice Queen, taking another sip of her tea. "Regardless, I compromised where necessary, and it went without a hitch. The true issue was the limited time for preparation. These kinds of events take _weeks_ of planning, so the blame falls on the school for informing us of the responsibility on such short notice."

"I can agree with that" admitted Yang, finishing her toast.

"I think you both did a wonderful job. I very much enjoyed myself" compliment Pyrrha, smiling.

"Thank you, Pyrrha" said Weiss, returning the smile, "that's very nice of you."

"Speaking of enjoying the Dance..." said Yang with a grin spreading on her face, "someone seemed to have _really_ enjoyed herself..."

The blonde Huntress-in-training's eyes rested on Blake, who didn't realize she had become the focus of the conversation, until she looked up from her meal and saw nearly all of her friends were looking at her.

"Wait, what?" she asked confused.

"You came back rather late last night..." stated Weiss, bringing her tea cup to her lips but pausing to look over the rim at her Faunus teammate, "...care to fill us on the details?"

"Oh I think I can fill in most of them" said Yang, resting her chin in her right palm, propped up by her elbow so she could look down the dinner table; a shit-eating grin on full display as she raised her left hand showing three fingers. "One third begins with S," she retracted her ring finger, "another third begins with N," she retracted her middle finger, "and the last third which is missing is..." she turned her left hand and gestured with her thumb and index finger like a pistol at Blake "...U."

The normally gloomy Huntress-in-training was now very much flustered, eyes wide, and cheeks burning red.

"W-Wha–" she began to stutter, eyes darting between each of her friends who were all beginning to grow grins of their own, minus Ruby who was picking at her food with her fork.

"Went off with Sun in the night, did you?" asked Nora, leaning forward.

"I-we-wait!" Blake stammered, her face becoming redder by the second. "Yes we left the party together, but it was because I felt bad for turning Sun down, so I thought we could go for a walk to make up for it!"

"Uhuh, and _how_ exactly did you make up for it?" asked Yang suggestively.

"We just talked!" defended the Faunus. "We went for a walk, and we talked! That's all!"

"No kissing under the moonlight?" added Weiss.

"No! And what about you?" asked Blake, pointing at the Atlassian. "You left with Neptune!"

"Neptune was a complete and utter gentleman" Weiss retorted, her cheeks tinged only slightly pink. "We danced, we chatted at length, and he walked me back to the dorm and kissed my hand."

"How suave of him" commented Pyrrha.

"Yes, though I will have to teach him to dance."

"Oh he couldn't have been _that_ bad."

"He..." paused Weiss, trying to find the right words without sounding overly harsh, "...tried his best."

Pyrrha covered her mouth trying to suppress a giggle.

"Well, no one is perfect" she said, smiling. "I'm sure you'll be a good teacher."

"Of course" Weiss replied confidently, raising her tea cup. "Not all of us can have partners that are secretly expert dancers."

"I wouldn't go so far as call myself an expert..." said a voice, causing the students to turn their heads to Jaune, who stood with a tray of food in his hands, "...but I do appreciate the compliment."

The blond's eyes then rested on Pyrrha, who began to blush from his gaze, the memories of the previous night returning. The same memories were also playing in Jaune's mind, causing him to smile warmly as he sat beside her.

Immediately, their friends could sense that the atmosphere had changed, and Nora most of all, was ready to take full advantage.

"Did you have any issues at the shop?" asked Pyrrha.

"No, not at all. The shop owner was just happy nothing was damaged and I actually returned it" replied Jaune, adding sugar to his coffee. The couple gazed at one another for a moment or two longer than they realized, leaving them unaware of the others watching them curiously.

"I take it you also enjoyed yourself last night?" asked Weiss,

"Hmm? Yes, I did. The dance was really fun, minus the initial social awkwardness" replied Jaune, cutting a piece of breakfast sausage.

There was a moment of silence as Jaune began to eat. The others watched him, each preparing for the right moment to strike. Pyrrha was now aware of what was going on, and felt her cheeks warm, knowing that their friends were going to exploit the situation to the fullest.

Jaune finally began to notice his friends were staring at him, and he looked around in confusion.

"What?" he asked at last.

"Did anything of note happen late night?" asked Blake, now glad to no longer be on the receiving end.

"Uh, n-no–"

"I know what happened!" cut in Nora, no longer able to contain herself.

"Oh? Do tell" said Yang, grinning from ear to ear.

Nora planted her elbows on the table, resting her chin in her palms, and was smiling wildly and radiantly.

"Jaune asked Pyrrha ooo-ut~!" she sang excitedly.

The aforementioned couple began to blush, not expecting to be discovered and put on blast so soon.

"Really? Oh Jaune, how are you handing the rejection?" asked Yang in mock concern.

"I-I said yes!" defended Pyrrha, blushing even deeper.

"Wow..." exclaimed the blonde Huntress-in-training, eyebrows raised exaggeratedly. "So guys in dorky PJs and dresses do it for ya, huh?"

Jaune eyed the elder Xiao Long, and knew that she was baiting for reactions from both himself and his lieutenant. Instead of giving her what she wanted, he smirked and grabbed his coffee.

"That's bold talk coming from someone who went to the Dance alone" he said calmly, taking a sip of his drink. "And you can't use the excuse that you were too busy with planning, since Weiss went with Neptune."

Yang squinted at the taller blond with pursed lips.

"Well played, Arc" she said nodding, earning a wink and a raised glass from the captain of Team JNPR. She then tried to hit him with a tatter from her plate, but he managed to avoid it by quickly leaning to the left.

"Well, it's great to see that you finally came around" said Blake genuinely.

"Yes, congratulations" added Weiss, "And thank you for speaking with Neptune. I very much appreciate that."

"Hey, no worries. I know when to call it quits" Jaune admitted, showing he was no longer hurt by the heiress' rejection, "but I have to point out the 'coming around' comments. That's been pretty much everyone's reaction thus far. That's _far_ better than disapproval obviously, but were Pyrrha's feelings obvious to everyone but m–"

"Yes!" everyone cut in unanimously.

Jaune's eyes widened as he looked at all of his friends, before his gaze finally rested on Pyrrha, who was smiling with both amusement and bashfulness.

"Sorry" he said, looking down in shame. Pyrrha took his hand and squeezed comfortingly.

"As I said last night, there's nothing to forgive. I'm just happy you changed your mind" she reassured, her eyes gleaming with love.

The blond couldn't suppress a smirk and squeezed back, taking in her beauty as if they were the only ones in the dining hall. Of course they weren't, which gave Nora another chance to tease.

"Now kiiiiiiissss~" the ginger cheered, getting a playful nudge from Ren.

"Be nice" he said, though not trying to restrain her.

Nora hardly noticed as she got the reaction she wanted from her teammates, who were now both blushing and flustered. The others were equally amused, enjoying how cute the new couple were being.

"So you two are officially together, right?" asked Yang.

"W-Well, we haven't gone on a proper date yet" admitted Jaune. "There was the Dance yeah, but that was rushed and wasn't about talking of relationship goals and stuff like that. I think it's only going to be official when we go on real dates and cement the relationship. Right?"

He had turned to address Pyrrha with the final statement, earning a courteous nod in reply.

"Yes, it would only be fair" replied the redhead, though in her heart of hearts, already considered Jaune to be her man, and completely irreplaceable.

"So in the meantime, you're both free to hit up with whomever?" Yang asked.

"Of course not!" the captain and lieutenant of Team JNPR cried in unison.

Obviously Yang had not been serious with her question, only continuing her game of teasing. The reaction caused the others to laugh, knowing that the couple were indeed officially together, romantic dates under their belts or not. 

"Well, you all seem nice and lively this morning" said a voice.

The group turned to see it was none other than Sun speaking, with Neptune to his right, both smiling brightly. The Vacuan Faunus' eyes rested on Blake, causing her to blush, as a roguish grin spread across his face.

"Of course!" chimed Nora, "We're talking about how everyone's dates went last night."

"Oh really? Mind if we join you?"

"Not at all. Have a seat" gestured Yang.

Weiss, who noticed how Sun had looked at Blake, moved over to her left, giving him enough room to sit next to her teammate. As Sun took his seat, Neptune sat to Weiss' left, and wished her a good morning, earning himself a reserved but sweet reply, accompanied with a light blush on the heiress' cheeks.

"So, did everyone have a good one?" asked Sun.

"Yup! But none of us had it better than these two, since they're going out" quipped the ginger.

"Wait really? Congrats" Sun said, giving the new couple a thumbs up.

"I figured that was the case after the stunt you pulled last night. Even I can't pull off looking cool in a dress" Neptune said honestly.

"Cool is not how I would described it" Yang snickered.

"Again..." Jaune responded, this time being bolder by sliding his right hand around Pyrrha's waist, and pulling her closer, "which one of us got a partner to the Dance and left with a date?"

Pyrrha's face had turned rather scarlet from her captain's sudden act of manliness, which only deepened when she saw the confident smirk on his face.

Yang had expected Jaune's retort, and quickly returned on the offensive.

"Well then Mr. Prince Charming, have you even kissed your date yet?"

This time the blonde Huntress-in-training had landed a solid hit, as both Jaune and Pyrrha blushed and looked at one another nervously.

"W-Well... _yes_..." the swordsman said slowly.

"Liar" Nora blurted out. "Pyrrha just kissed him on the cheek."

"Pfft, that's it? _Boring._ "

"That's what I said."

"Oh come on!" protested Pyrrha, her face now matching the colour of her hair. "Why are both you so fixated on Jaune and I jumping _that_ far into our relationship so soon? What about them?"

She pointed at Sun, Blake, Neptune, and Weiss, who were all at differing levels of flustered; Blake being the most, followed by Weiss, then Neptune, and then Sun being more amused than embarrassed.

"Well, _they_ are just starting to get to know one another, whereas you've been crushing on Jaune ever since you met him. And you're both on my team so it's _extra_ important. And you're fun to tease" confessed the ginger without shame.

Yang and Sun burst out laughing, and high fived the thunderess enthusiastically. Jaune and Pyrrha hung their heads in red-faced defeat, knowing that this would continue for the entirety of their relationship, or when they finally made love; though no guarantee the teasing would end there. Pyrrha then felt her Scroll vibrate in her pocket, and slowly pulled it out, glad to have some form of distraction from the situation she was in.

"So Vale's turning out to be a pretty fun place. Wouldn't ya say, Neptune?" complemented Sun.

"Yes, I'd think so" agreed the blue-haired Vacuan. "Nice capital, nice night life, nice people, and a nice start to the Vytal Festival."

"Though there was a severe lack of cold booze at the Dance last night, to be honest" Sun remarked.

"I like the way you think, Sun, but the school forbad the inclusion of a cocktail menu. I tried to change their minds, but nope, no booze. I think someone got in trouble trying to spike the punch last night too" agreed Yang.

"Aren't you technically still underage?" asked Blake, which caused Sun to scoff.

"As if that matters in Vacuo!" he replied bluntly. "Vacuo is a harsh place, where you need to be tougher than nails to survive. If the blazing heat of the desert doesn't kill you, then a million other things will. So there's plenty of other things to worry about than if some teenager is having a beer. And let's be real, there's nothing like a cold one after a hard Hunt. So I guess that's the one flaw of Vale so far. Well, that and the weather. It's too cold here, right, dude?"

Neptune nodded in silent agreement, both which caused Weiss to nearly spit out her tea. She coughed loudly as the blue-haired lieutenant placed his hand on her back in an attempt to sooth her, before she looked at the both of them in bewilderment.

"Excuse me?" she demanded, eyes wide. "Perhaps I misheard, but did you just say that it is too _cold_ here?"

"Yeah, that's what I said."

The Schnee heiress' mouth hung open in shock.

"Are you insane? How in Remnant could you possibly think that Vale is cold? We are just at the beginning of spring, and it is positively humid! Winter cannot come soon enough; Gods I miss the snow" sighed Weiss.

"We're from desert country, Ice Queen. It gets to nearly 50° at high noon, and almost 70° in the centre of Vacuo. Now _that_ is hot!"

"To be fair, it does get to nearly 0° at night" chimed in Neptune, "especially in the winter where it can hit -5°."

The Monkey Faunus shivered from the thought, which caused the Atlassian Huntress-in-training to scoff.

"Minus five? That is still autumn wear weather! In Atlas, it hits fifty below in the city, and in the tundra lands to the north, where there are no trees to slow the polar winds, the temperature drops to -70° with ease. And I say with ease because even we Atlassians have been unable to develop devices that can survive the northern climate to record the temperatures at the peak of winter. In short, we have no clue how cold it can get" she explained, with a sort of pride that seemed alien to the others, though was hardly any different than Sun's pride of Vacuo's own unforgiving climate.

"Remind me never to visit Atlas, would ya?" said Sun to Blake. "I'll stick to sand, sun, and the only ice in sight is in my drink."

"Hmmm. It doesn't seem _so_ bad" commented Nora, oddly intrigued by Weiss' description of Atlas; though she didn't know exactly why.

"I love summer for the beaches, I love fall for the colours, and I love relaxing near the fire in winter...but if _those_ are the two extremes I gotta work with, I'm gonna stay right here" said Yang, rubbing the dining table with both palms.

"Just a moment" realized the lady rapierist, "if you find that Vale is too cold, then _why_ are you going about with your jacket open with no shirt beneath it?"

The Vacuan Faunus looked at Weiss as if she had suggested that the moon was in one piece.

"What? And hide the goods?" he inquired in stupefaction, passing his hands down his torso like an artist displaying a masterpiece, with Blake's eyes following. "Now _who's_ being crazy here?" he said while flashing his roguish grin.

Weiss simply rolled her eyes at the Faunus, unsurprised by the explanation.

"As long as you dress competently, then you will be able to enjoy Atlas and all her beauty. But if you _must_ feel the heat, then you can make full use of our saunas and hot springs; that would be the best of both worlds."

"I'll take a rain check on that" he said, making Neptune laugh, though the others weren't aware of the meaning behind the comment.

The heiress rolled her eyes once again, which got a laugh from the others, as it was clear that neither were going to win each other over.

"Oh no..." moaned Pyrrha, causing her friends to look at her with concern.

"What's wrong?" asked Jaune, clearly seeing the distress in his lieutenant's eyes.

Pyrrha covered her face with her right hand as she held up her Scroll with her left, so that her captain could see what had upset her. Jaune looked at the screen and saw that it was a photo of a newspaper called the "Argus Tribune", on what appeared to be a kitchen table, with a cup of coffee sitting beside it. It was on the front page with a large photo of himself and Pyrrha dancing, just below a large title that said " _Champion of Mistral Goes to Beacon Dance With Unknown Huntsman_ ". Jaune was confused at why their photo was in the news, and more so of who sent it, rather than a link to the digital version of the article. It was then that he noticed the photo was sent through the Scroll default messaging client, from a contact named "Mother".

Pyrrha looked at Jaune through her fingers, hiding only a portion of her blush.

"My mother says she is very much looking forward to meeting you" she said slowly.

This realization caused the blond to blush as well, though it was more to due to embarrassment than with romance. He had been fine with a little humiliation to make up for his mistakes, and in the end he could laugh it off as it had earned him a second date with an incredibly beautiful woman. However, it was the fact that Pyrrha's mother's first impression of him was one clad in a dress, that embarrassed the young man deeply.

"Your mom knows about Jaune?" asked Nora excitedly, believing this was another chance to tease her friends.

"Of course. I've told her about the team and Jaune being made captain the day JNPR was formed" replied the redhead, looking down at her Scroll dejected. "But that is not the issue." She held up her Scroll so that the rest of the table could see, and all were shocked to see its contents.

"Why is that in the news? And on the front page no less" asked Yang, stumped.

"It is because I am Pyrrha Nikos..." the champion replied breathlessly, noticing her mother was beginning to write to her. "There must have been a freelancer, or one of the students from outside of Beacon who took a photo and sold it to the Argus Tribune." She began to tap on the screen to reply to her mother, before attempting to locate the original article. "And that is also the reason why it is on the front page. News that I went to the Dance with a date would draw the interest of the entirety of Mistral. The fact they referred to Jaune as an 'unknown Huntsman', means they are inflating the situation to make the story as gargantuan as possible. No doubt they'll begin looking into our relationship."

"Are you serious?"

Pyrrha sighed as she located the article. "It is one of the many joys of being a celebrity. Privacy is the cost of fame."

"That's gross" grimaced Sun, folding his arms, as the redhead took a breath and began to read.

" _Last night was the beginning of the Vytal Festival, this time hosted by the Kingdom of Vale's crown jewel, the Academy of Beacon. As is tradition, a formal dance takes place to welcome the competitors to the host school, allowing them to settle in comfortably before the main tournament begins. Many Huntsmen and Huntresses-in-training go to the Dance together, most with members of their own teams, as dates, though many also take the opportunity to experience the local pickings. As champion of Mistral, it seemed appropriate that Miss Nikos would seek someone with equal skill, as there are no warriors of her generation that can compete within our Kingdom. I, and I am sure as did many others, waited with baited breath to hear of such news come to light in the coming weeks._

_However, I was shocked to received a message from a from a freelancer attending the party that Miss Nikos' date was none other than the young man in the dress you see in the photo above. Our freelancer said that he was baffled at what he was seeing, as this student walked straight up to Miss Nikos, and asked her to dance. He was baffled further when she accepted his offer and danced with him the entire evening, and was even spotted leaving the ball room together._

_Immediately I began collaborating with our freelancer to gather as much information as possible on this mysterious student. What history does he have with our champion? On the ground information gathering had proved to be incredibly difficult, as most had no idea who this Huntsman-in-training was. Most refer to him as 'the blond swordsman that hangs out with Weiss Schnee and Pyrrha Nikos'. My intrigue to know more about this young man began to grow, as he was rolling with the largest players in eastern Remnant. How could a Huntsman-in-training remain unknown whilst being familiar with the champion of Mistral and the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company? My own research was turning up empty, as no Huntsman or athlete of his description matched anyone of note from previous tournaments in either Mistral or Atlas, nor in Vale. This was incredibly confusing, as neither Huntress have ever been to Vale. So how could such a person, with enough prestige to be associated with them, go under the radar?_

_It was at last our freelancer than informed me that this Huntsman's name was Jaune Arc, and was none other than the captain of Miss Nikos' team named 'JNPR' (pronounced Juniper). This came as a shock to us all, as any team Miss Nikos would be a part of would no doubt place her as captain. However, I can confirm with the official first-year team registry that indeed, the team is called JNPR with Arc as captain, and Miss Nikos as lieutenant. In fact, their entire team, safe for Miss Nikos, are made of up unknowns. As shocking as this all may be, having Jaune Arc's name finally gave me the ability to do some proper research, and learn just who he was._

_It grieves me to inform you all that Jaune Arc has no record of any kind. He has no accreditation or titles to his name, nor any notation. It would appear that this Jaune Arc, is a less than average first-year student. We are still waiting for a response from Beacon Academy's Huntmaster, Professor Samuel Ozpin, to confirm Jaune Arc's record. When a response is finally given, we will update this story as soon as humanly possible._

_In the meantime, we are left to speculate on what exactly the relationship between this Jaune Arc, and Pyrrha Nikos is. Since he is indeed her captain, then perhaps them going to the Dance together was nothing more than a courtesy. Why he was in a dress, neither I nor our freelancer can say for certain, but it does give some insight into why Miss Nikos accepted his request to dance. She may have been embarrassed by the ordeal, and decided it would be best to go along with it, in order to save face. She very well might have felt such pity–"_

The last sentence was the final straw for the Mistralese champion, who slammed her Scroll onto the table, causing the others to jump in shock.

"They always do this. They always have to do this!" she cried, her voice filled with frustration, and a deep scowl on her face.

The rest of the group, along with Ruby who had been lost in her own thoughts for the entire morning, looked at Pyrrha in complete shock. They had never seen her so frustrated, let alone angry, and yet here she was with all that emotion being clearly reflected in her eyes as she stared at the article. The only people who had seen her reveal some of the emotions that she kept hidden were Nora and Jaune, and the blond swordsman had see a very good display of that frustration the previous night. It was because that seal had been broken, and her love for the young man being known, that she was now no longer trying to hide what she truly felt.

"Every time I have fought in a tournament, so called journalists go through my opponents' pasts, and belittle them. Instead of giving them the respect any Huntsman or Huntress deserves for taking up the Hunt, they mock them! I have lost count of the number of promising Huntsmen and athletes that lost their edge before battle because of the support I have received, and the subjugation they received. It's why I came to Beacon in the first place. I wanted to meet new and talented warriors, who were devoted to the cause, and where I would not be obsessed over. I'm so naive."

She turned to look at Jaune, who was gazing at her with a somber face, knowing there was little he could say to comfort her.

"I'm so sorry, Jaune, now you're going to be swarmed by reporters demanding to know more about you and our relationship."

Her eyes were filled with remorse, and Jaune knew that this was her fears coming to life.

"Everything is going to be fine" he assured her, taking her hand once again. "I've got nothing to hide, and who cares if I don't have titles or whatever. So long as they leave my family alone, then they can do and say what they want about me."

This wasn't entirely true, however. While he did mean that he would gladly take the brunt of the paparazzi's ire if it meant protecting Pyrrha and his family, he did indeed have something to hide. The reason why his record was empty was _because_ there was no record. He had forged his documentation to get into Beacon. What would happen if some journalist got their hands on his transcripts, and could prove they were forged? He'd be expelled, there was no question about that, but what would be the consequences for Pyrrha? Or Team JNPR for that matter? Those fears would be in his thoughts for a long time.

"Oh Gods! You need to contact your family to let them know" she gasped, covering her mouth, eyes widening in realization. "If they find out where they live, they'll pester them and dig into their history to get to you."

"I'll let them know. My eldest sister just had a baby, and they deserve their privacy" Jaune replied, though he wasn't looking forward to speaking to them. It was his rocky relationship with his family that led him to escape to Beacon in the first place, but he knew that it was the right thing to do.

"They can't really be that low to go bug your family, can they?" asked Yang, grossed out by the idea of reporters shoving a camera in the face of a young mother to get information.

"They are I guess. My team is pretty popular, but it's never gotten that bad, thankfully" admitted Sun. "We like having the limelight on us, and it's been nothing but sunshine and roses; it's much easier to get into clubs, get free drinks, etc. We're obviously not as famous as Pyrrha, but if we ever start getting really nosey asses digging into our personal lives, then we're really gonna have some problems."

"Yeah, that's terrible. And to think that's how your mother learned about Jaune too" added Nora, knowing how important her friend's relationship with Jaune meant to her.

"Well, no I told her about the team..." repeated Pyrrha, looking at her Scroll and saw her mother had replied to her, saying that she believed nothing in the editorial, and that she trusted her judgement on who to date. Seeing that did alleviate some of the anxiety, and she thanked her before speaking. "It would have been nice to let her know about Jaune and I on my own terms."

"So what does she think of me so far?" asked Jaune, scratching his cheek.

"Well...she did have some questions about the dress..." she replied, causing some snickering from the others, "but she seems to have a positive opinion of you. When I gave the context regarding the dress, she said that it spoke far louder than the several thousand word long opinion piece masquerading as journalism."

That caused Jaune's pride to swell greatly, knowing now without question that his heart had been in the right place on all counts. Not only did it earn Pyrrha's forgiveness, but also won over her mother, whose approval he most certainly wanted.

"Well then" he said, preparing to take a sip of his coffee, "there's a silver lining after all."

"Yeah! And besides, there's got to be more important things to talk about than who's dating who, right? The papers will just move onto something else" reasoned Nora.

"Unfortunately not" sighed Weiss, holding up her Scroll to reveal a front page article of the "Mantle Gazette", with a photo of herself dancing with Neptune, and an equally sensational title.

"You too?" blinked Blake in surprise.

"I may not be a celebrity in terms of my combat abilities" explained the heiress, closing her Scroll in annoyance, "but I am nevertheless a point of fixation for Atlas, given that I am the heiress of the Kingdom's oldest and most respected family."

"And what does Atlas think of me?" asked Neptune. "Have I also been thrown under the bus?"

Before Weiss could answer, her Scroll vibrated. She raised it to see who was calling her, and instantly slid a finger across the screen to hang up.

'Absolutely not' she thought. "Thankfully they have not. There are some that are disappointed you aren't some Atlassian politician's son or someone of that nature, some aren't pleased that you're from Vacuo, but otherwise seem to not have strong feelings one way or another."

"Why does it matter that he's from Vacuo?" asked Blake, which brought out a slightly out-of-character chuckle from Sun.

"Looks like there are still some who've got a grudge against us and the ol' King of Vale" he said, getting a smirk from his lieutenant.

"Wait, why would Atlas be mad at Vacuo because of the King of Vale? Vale doesn't even have a king" Nora remarked perplexed.

"Alexandre Vale, the last King, sided with Vacuo in the Great War, and defended it against Mistral and Atlas. You need to spend more time paying attention in Professor Oobleck's history classes, and less time sleeping" explained Ren, scolding her playfully as usual.

"Uh, it's _Doctor_ Oobleck" corrected the ginger, wagging her finger dismissively. "See? I _do_ pay attention."

"Ren is correct" added Pyrrha, with a more sombre expression on her face. "There are still those in Mistral that feel resentment towards Vale because of that past history. I do not doubt that if we traveled to other parts of the Kingdom of Vale and to Vacuo, we would find those who feel similarly to the Eastern Kingdoms."

"Well..." said Yang, after a short silence blanked itself over the group, as she finished off the rest of her breakfast, "so much for the Vytal Festival. What do you think, sis?" The blonde looked over at the miniature sniper when she didn't respond, and seeing that she was still staring at her plate, nudged her with her elbow. "Ruby."

The younger Xiao Long instantly snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her sister in confusion.

"Uh, what?"

"Did you hear anything that we just talked about?"

"Uuuuh..."

"What's up with you? You've been quiet all morning, and you've barely eaten your..." the blonde eyed her sister's meal which was a crepe filled to the point of bursting with chocolate spread, syrup, bananas, and powdered sugar, " _breakfast_."

"Is _that_ what you call it?" asked Jaune, leaning forward and raising an eyebrow at his fellow captain's meal.

"I wouldn't. That's dessert" added Blake.

"No, it's breakfast" defended Ruby.

"There is nearly as much sugar in that as there is in the heated cup of syrup you call coffee" jeered Weiss, crossing her arms.

"I think it looks delicious" complimented Nora, feeling her hungry renewing.

"Don't encourage her" warned Yang, pointing at the thunderess. "But seriously, what's up? Is everything OK?"

Ruby sighed. "I can't stop thinking about what happened last night. I know that I've seen that woman before. She _has_ to be who backed up Torchwick when he and his goons attacked that dust shop I was at."

"Are you sure?" asked Blake, her focus becoming razor sharp.

The red-hooded girl nodded. "I could never forget her and her power. And that's what worries me. Not only do we have her and Torchwick's gang working together, but they're also working with the White Fang. That can't be good. Something big is coming."

"We can't be sure of that" Yang commented, worried that the conversation would reignite Blake's anxiety. "As far we can tell, this woman and Torchwick's gang are Human; why would they work with the White Fang?"

"Both are sound observations" said Pyrrha with a collected and sharp look on her face. "It is odd that a group such as the White Fang, solely driven by a cause involving the Faunus race, would align themselves with any Human faction. It _is_ confusing, but not abnormal. There have been many times throughout history where opposing factions joined forces to deal with a common enemy. It's where we get the phrase 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend'. Naturally, these coalitions of power descend into civil conflict; regardless of the outcome of their mission. If they succeed, then they fight amongst themselves for their new holdings, and if they begin to fail, they then blame one another, and implode.

This is why that phrase is rather misleading. If the only commonality between two factions is the hatred of a single enemy, then what happens when said enemy is vanquished? Friendship that can only be formed under the banner of hatred, is not friendship at all. Without sharing morals, principles, and ideals, there cannot be true unity. Nevertheless, our enemies do appear to be gathering at our gates, and it must be for a reason. I have fears regarding the White Fang, as a terrorist group mobilizing at the same time as a massive international gathering like the Vytal Festival, could spell..." 

Pyrrha's words sent a chill down everyone's spine. The idea of a stadium full of civilian spectators, containing women and children, being targeted for an attack, made everyone's blood run cold and their stomachs twist. Blake was especially affected, as she secretly knew just how terrible the White Fang, and their leader, Adam Taurus, could be. She had seen his villainy first hand, and while she did wish to defend the group's original goals, she painfully had to admit that their infamy was entirely deserved.

Weiss was equally disturbed by the notion, as the terrorist group had already done something of that nature eight months before in Atlas, utilizing a hijacked train with Schnee freight in tow, which resulted in the deaths of many innocent people. Her great loathing of the White Fang at times was mistaken as a dislike of the Faunus themselves. However, she had only began to think of them when she became aware of the White Fang's attacks on Mantle and her family's company. If they were going to unleash terror upon the capital city of Albion, then on her honour, she would fight for its citizens.

"The more I learn about the White Fang, the more I hate them" said Sun rather coldly, though it came out more as a low growl. "If they do something terrible like that here, then at best it will unite the Humans and Faunus of Vale against them, and at worse, would start a race war...which might be what they want, now that I think about it. They should learn a few lessons on how we do it in Vacuo: if you're tough enough to survive, you're one of us. Who and what you are doesn't matter."

"Not a bad system" agreed Yang, with Sun and Neptune nodding along.

The other Faunus remained quiet, knowing anything she could say would reveal more than she wanted, and decided to instead think of what in Remnant Adam was planning. Weiss was also in thought, and was about to speak, when her Scroll once again began to vibrate. She instinctively prepared her right index finger to kill the call, when she noticed that the caller was not who she had expected. The white-haired Huntress-in-training hesitated for a few moments, before slowly sliding across the hang-up command.

'I'm sorry sister, but not right now' she thought, closing her Scroll.

The air surrounding the table had become noticeably heavy, obviously due to the topic they had just discussed. The young Huntsmen-in-training were all lost in thought, when a voice boomed over the school's intercom system.

" _Would Miss Ruby Rose please come to Huntmaster Ozpin's office immediately? Miss Ruby Rose to Huntmaster Ozpin's office immediately._ "

The voice was none other than Glynda Goodwitch, the Deputy-Huntmistress. From her tone it was impossible to tell if there was something urgent that the Huntmaster wanted to converse on, however, given that Ruby was being called specifically, gave the others a fairly clear idea of what was on the table.

"Looks like we're not the only ones wanting answers" remarked Jaune, looking up at one of the dining hall speakers, before turning his gaze to his fellow captain. "You better get going and get back quick. We'll be shipping out soon."

"Wait, we are?" asked Ruby confused.

"I saw a fleet of ships docked at our skyport this morning on my way back, and I overheard the crew of those ships discussing something about special runs for Hunts and other missions requested by Beacon. It probably has something to do with the festival" he explained.

"Oh this could be interesting" said Sun grinning.

Ruby got to her feet and began to walk towards the doors of the hall, when Nora caused her to halt.

"Are you gonna eat that?" she asked, eyeing the crepe hungrily. The sniper turned on a dime, returning to the table, and quick as lightning, inhaled her breakfast, before scampering away to Ozpin's office.

The others, minus Yang who was used to this behaviour, were left in wide-eyed shock.

"Well I'm impressed" Nora commented at last.

"I didn't think there was anyone who could match you in eating" added Ren genuinely.

"And where does it all go?" asked Blake.

"She eats so unhealthily" groaned Weiss, rubbing her temples. "How does she eat so many sweets and pastries, and yet remains that petite?"

"Well..." began Yang sighing, "the theory I subscribe to after being her sister for fifteen years, is that it instantly fuels her Semblance."

The ginger snorted. "So her speed isn't her powers, it's just a sugar rush?" she laughed, clutching her sides. The rest of Team JNPR chuckled along with her, with the remaining members of Team RWBY and Team SSSN joining in.

"Right ho, if what you're saying it true, then Neptune and I better get back to our team and get ready" announced the Monkey Faunus, rising to his feet.

"Hmmm. We should" agreed Neptune, standing as well, and looked down at the Schnee heiress. "Hope to see you soon" he added with a smile, causing her to blush lightly.

"Cheers and see y'all later!" echoed Sun to the Beacon students, before adding a salute directed at Blake. "See you around, beautiful" he said with a wink, causing her to smile and blush as well.

The Beaconites were at last left to themselves, each thinking of what would be waiting for them in the coming days. Jaune was wondering how to approach speaking to his family about Pyrrha, and how to deal with reporters digging into his past. Pyrrha was thinking similar thoughts, along with their relationship being in the open. Ren and Nora were both thinking of one another, and Yang was thinking of the coming battles with a mixture of excitement and uncertainty.

It was Blake and Weiss that were having the most turbulent thoughts. Blake was of course racking her brain over what Adam was doing working with Torchwick, and this mysterious woman. She had known him for years, and he had never shown sympathy for Humans. His hatred for them had grown stronger over time, till the point that he felt justification in committing atrocities in the name of White Fang. If he was willing to join forces with Humans, she had a terrible feeling that it was not due to him having a change of heart, but rather a means to an even viler end.

Weiss was equally uncertain of what was going on with the enemy. Fighting against the local organized crime seemed like fun to the young Atlassian heiress, but now things were beginning to turn into something more dire. She had never had any resentment to the Faunus. Honestly, she was indifferent, and saw them as neither inferior nor superior. She was a daughter of the House of Schnee, thus came with a natural prestige above others. Nevertheless, she was still bound by honour to not sully the name of her House by subjecting others to cruelty or belittlement for simply being not of the same status. It was a balancing act of knowing that being of the oldest family of Atlas meant being of a higher standing, but not an autocrat. To put it simply, it was the difference between being an elite and being an elitist. Of course there were those who still perceived them to be the latter, but Weiss had striven to remain true and unshaken.

That changed when the White Fang began to target her family. When the White Fang began to sink their jaws into the city of Mantle, and began to claw at the Schnee Dust Company, Weiss started to see a change in her family. How much her father's frustration began to eat away at their peace, how much cargo and money was lost to raids and sabotage, and how their name was being dragged through the mud. However, the crime that drove Weiss to truly hate the White Fang, was the night they hijacked an entire train with a large shipment of their Dust onboard, and took dozens of hostages. The military had been called in to deal with the situation, and believed that Adam Taurus would be willing to negotiate, as the hostages must not have been in his plans. They only learned the truth when it was too late. The White Fang detonated bombs on the train, tripling the explosive power by igniting the refined and unrefined Dust, and killing all aboard, along with soldiers and Huntsmen.

It was then that Weiss began to truly loath the White Fang. It was then that she decided to take action. Her sister had decided to serve in the military after becoming a Huntress, to bring honour and respect to the Schnee name without having to run the company. While she had no interest in serving, Weiss did want to join in the fight, and decided to become a Huntress. Her decision to study in Vale as opposed to Atlas, was due to her wanting to benefit and uphold her family name, whilst not having to be there with them, and deal with her father's disappointments.

If the White Fang was attempting to commit another atrocity, then on her name and honour, she would stop them.

λΛλ

The senior Huntsmen watched Ruby as she left Ozpin's office. Just as the door closed behind her, Huntmaster-General Ironwood turned to face his friends with a smirk on his face.

"Not very good at being subtle, is she?" he said, seating himself on one of the chairs before Ozpin's desk. "Not at all like her mother."

The Beacon Huntmaster gave his old friend a small chuckle as he took his own seat.

"Nonetheless, she's indeed Summer's daughter" he said softly, with both nostalgia and forlornness in his voice.

"Indeed. She has the same initiative to help others and protect the innocent. Furthermore, it would seem" the General said as he fished out a long cigar from inside his coat, as well as a metal lighter, "that Miss Rose and her friends have been gathering a little intelligence of their own."

"The woman is without question the same that I fought that night" added Glynda, "but what's this about a hideout in the Southeast?"

"That I believe" answered Ironwood, punching a hole in the cap before stoking his cigar to life, "was her attempt to _subtly_ let us know of said gathered intelligence; as subtle as a Nevermore in a chicken coop."

" _That_ she gets from her father" replied Ozpin, getting a quick but hearty laugh from his fellow Huntmaster.

"Right then. I can have a scout team ready to move out in 20 minutes. In the mean time, I'll lend a hand with figuring out what this woman was doing snooping around the campus with my cyber division."

"Much appreciated, James. Do inform your scouts to keep an eye out for friendlies, as no doubt Team RWBY or Team JNPR will attempt to take a shadowing mission today in the Southeast."

"First years can't take such mission" corrected the Deputy-Huntmistress, though she knew Ozpin was well aware.

"Of course, but I have no doubt they will try to do so anyways. As you said James, she wants to show her initiative. Perhaps we should help that along" said Ozpin, his fingers interlaced and resting in his lap.

"Are you suggesting we allow her and her team to sniff around for the enemy hideout?" Ironwood asked, slightly puzzled. "Only in the field can you gain true experience, but to send out green troops for such a sensitive mission might do more damage than good. And in Miss Rose's case, you can still smell the milk."

"Well to be fair, that has more to do with her obsession with pastries" said Ozpin, bringing his tea cup to his lips.

Ironwood took a long draw of his cigar, and leaned back in his chair as he slowly exhaled the bluish-grey smoke.

"Like mother like daughter" he echoed with a sigh, before rising to his feet. "Right then, time to get to work. I'll get to my scouts and leave you to the shadowed missions. I'll have my cyber division contact you shortly, though we'll need the Crow to roost to positively ID this infiltrator. If he does before I see him, let me know. Good day, Sam. Glynda."

The General gave his friend a courteous salute and a polite nod to the Huntress, before leaving the office and closing the door behind him. There was a pregnant pause in the room, which Glynda broke after realizing that Ozpin wasn't going to.

"Do you think that She's planning an attack?" she asked, trying her best to hide her alarm.

The silver-haired Huntmaster stared into his tea cup, looking deep into the amber coloured liquid, as if trying to foresee what was to come.

"Always."


	3. To Stand By Your Side

The past few weeks had been both incredibly eventful, and incredibly calm. Team RWBY's raid on Roman Torchwick's hideout had been more successful than originally expected. Ruby and her team had slowed down their enemies, as well as the Grimm, giving Teams JNPR, CFVY, SSSN, and the Atlassian military, enough time to ready themselves and launch a counter-attack. They pushed into the tunnels and continued to slay the Grimm, insuring that none could break through again. There were still members of the White Fang hiding below ground, most of who had not expected to be flanked or were left onboard the train, and chose to either die fighting or surrender.

The march was slow given the debris, but thanks to General Ironwood deploying a full company of his armour division, they were able to punch through and allow the Huntsmen and the soldiers to press deeper. Their mission, though unknown to the Huntsmen-in-training, was to recover any and all intelligence that remained, in whatever condition they found it. Correspondences, notes, dossiers, hard drives, maps, manifests; anything that could provide the Huntmasters with information about their enemy's plans. Unfortunately there was not much intelligence to gather. Torchwick had not been a fool, and had either hidden vital information, or destroyed it. But what did remain would be utilized to its fullest, however useful it proved to be.

Despite his cleverness in covering his tracks, Torchwick had not been able to escape, and was currently being held prisoner by Ironwood. Attempts had been made to interrogate him, but so far he had not let slip any information that they did not already know. While speaking with Ozpin, the General had commented that he had expected the crime lord to crack given that his empire was falling to pieces, and wouldn't survive without him there to control his goons and manage his dealings. What he was surprised to discover was that Torchwick was still incredibly confident, and appeared to have not an ounce of concern for himself or his gang. Ironwood argued that this could be due to him being delusional, or him being aware of information that they did not possess. Ironwood's final comment was just as intriguing and disturbing as the second; that Torchwick's silence was on par with that of the most loyal of soldiers, more willing to die than to spill their guts. The immediate question that came to all their minds was why? Why would someone like Torchwick, who before this year had never garnered this level of power and ambition, align himself with the White Fang, have command of their fighters, and plan assaults? Furthermore, his gang's gathering of supplies in such great quantities was worrying, for it appeared to the Huntmaster-General as the gathering of war materials. Continuing on that vein, why would a mere gang leader have this level of loyalty to his comrades? Thus far they had no answer, but Ironwood was confident that they would get the explanations they were looking for.

Unfortunately for the elder Huntsmen, there was one piece of information they weren't provided; a piece held by Yang Xiao Long. Team RWBY had been asked to file reports about their assault on the train with Doctor Oobleck. Ruby's report was most appreciated as she had been captured by Torchwick, and Ozpin and Ironwood were hoping that she would have been privy to information that they had not yet discovered. However, they were looking in the wrong place, as Yang's report would have held information that would both illuminate and complicate the situation...if she had chosen to mention it. Yang had lied in her report that her opponent had fled after taking too much damage, leaving out that she had been saved by an unknown warrior. This warrior, clad head to toe in black with a strange helmet, and possibly wielding a sword, had scared off Yang's attacker, before leaving without a word by opening a portal. Without question the knowledge of this new player would be valued by Ozpin and his allies, as not only someone with the power to create portals alarming, but attempting to discover the allegiance of said warrior, would be paramount.

Of course none present would have been able to identify this new warrior. No emblems or insignias, no Kingdom crests, no uniform, nothing at all to point to their origin. Yang hadn't even able to tell what gender they were, or if they were Human or Faunus. With nothing to work with, and given that she was barely conscious with blurred vision at the time of her rescue, Yang decided not to mention the warrior; as a way of thanking them, if nothing else. Both the White Fang and Torchwick's goons had appeared to have gone underground, making no visible movements, signaling that they may have gone dormant for the time being. This then left Huntmaster-General Ironwood and Huntmaster Ozpin to their own devices, combing over the intelligence they recovered, along with continuing to plan the Vytal Festival Tournament.

This had been what the others decided to focus on as well, as both Team RWBY and JNPR began to train for the upcoming event. Their recent battles had made it clear that they needed to sharpen their skills, as well as polish up their teamwork. Both captains were aware of this fact most of all, Ruby for being so easily defeated and captured, and Jaune for being himself. They realized that things needed to change and change quickly, not only for the upcoming tournament battles, but for all battles to come. If they were to be true Huntsmen, to take on not only the hordes of Grimm, but evil people, Human and Faunus alike, they would need to improve. Ruby began focusing on refining her tactics and team combinations, maximizing not only her effectiveness as a sniper, but the effectiveness of her teammates.

Jaune was even more dedicated to self-improvement, spurred on from his recent involvement with Pyrrha, and his private conversation with Ren. He began scheduling training sessions with his lieutenant whenever there was room for them. He no longer tried to avoid his training; not even regarding Aura, which when Pyrrha would suggest they focus on that for the day, he would now nod and not complain. On top of increasing his training with Pyrrha, he also began training with Ren. It was not only so that both of them could improve together, as well as spend more time discussing the women they loved, but to train specifically on hand-to-hand combat. With the blond swordsman's options in combat being so limited, he decided it would be best to build on any and all things at his disposal.

Pyrrha and Nora began doing the same; the two strongest members of Team JNPR, testing their might against one another. It also gave them more time to talk about Jaune and Ren, continuing the conversations they previously had. They were having more and more of these chats as of late, mirroring the boys, as neither of them had such an opportunity before coming to Beacon. Furthermore, they were both emboldened from the events of the Dance. Nora was especially encouraged, as she now no longer felt stranded in her attempts to convey her feelings for Ren to him. Without question Ren had been a good friend and brother to her for a long time, but after her feelings for him turned into romantic love, she felt trapped, unable to express herself honestly. Pyrrha had now become an outlet for her feelings, and in turn, Nora felt that she was becoming a sister to her.

These new training regiments were proving to aid Team JNPR greatly, building not only their strength as a team, but trust as friends. Pyrrha was especially enjoying the training, as it was mirroring what she had become accustom to while training at Sanctum. Of course she was enjoying herself for more selfish reasons, and she was now spending far more time with Jaune than she had previously. While they had agreed on waiting till after the tournament to go on their date, the heart will do as it wishes, and they spent time during and post training in playful banter.

Today was no different. As per usual, the pair were on the roof of the dormitory, where they previously had most of their secret training sessions. Of course they had moved to other locations depending on what was planned for the day. However, as all of the training grounds were being occupied by other students, both foreign and Beaconite, their old stomping grounds would have to do. As Jaune was adjusting the straps of his armour, Pyrrha began to take a fighting stance.

"Are you ready" she asked.

"Nearly" he replied, buckling the last strap on his breastplate. "I've got a good feeling about our sparing session today."

"Oh? Why do you say that?"

"Just got some new ideas I'd like to try."

"Well..." she said with a smile, performing a sword flourish with Miló in her right hand before raising it behind her head, tip pointed at her captain, and Akoúo held before her, "I look for forward to testing these new ideas. Don't get discouraged if they fail."

"No worries" returned Jaune, drawing Crocea Mors, keeping it low while raising his shield. "If they fail, I'll just blame it on being distracted by your beauty."

Pyrrha blushed at his words, but smiled coquettishly at him. This was now a regular occurrence, as Jaune had become rather bold since the Dance, and would flirt with her often when they were alone. Of course she was enjoying every moment of it, as going from trying so hard to get his attention, to having him treat her as is she was the only woman in the world, was a change she could very easily become accustomed to. They held their gaze, waiting to see who would make the first move, before Jaune flicked his sword without warning, aiming for her left side.

Pyrrha parried the attack with Akoúo, and made an overhead thrust with Miló for the right side of blond's now exposed breastplate. Jaune absorbed the blow, and forced his shield forward to knock her back, before returning to a fighting stance. This had all occurred in a blink of an eye, displaying how proficient the two had become, though it was more Jaune catching up to Pyrrha's level. The couple began to slowly circle each other clockwise, taking care of their footwork, and keeping their eyes locked, trying to anticipate each other's next move. The redhead twitched her sword as a feint, but the blond didn't take the bait. She internally smiled at him for that, as she had made sure to beat it into him to avoid falling for obvious feints. Sword play was as much mental as it was physical, and Jaune had a sharper mind than he realized. She hoped that sharpening it would translate to whetting his blade, and so far her faith had not been misplaced.

Pyrrha decided to press on the attack, and thrust Miló at the same spot on Jaune's breastplate. Jaune instantly brought up Crocea Mors to counter the blow, but as soon as the blades made contact, Pyrrha countered clockwise and stuck his right spaulder. Jaune jerked back from the attack, but kept his footing. He brought his shield up in an attempt to obscure Pyrrha's view, and quickly swiped at her left leg with his sword. Pyrrha didn't try to block or parry the attack, but instead lifted her leg, allowing Crocea Mors to miss, and attacked with the edge of Akoúo. As fast as the young captain could, he brought up his shield to block the strike, however this time he was slightly caught off balance, and staggered backwards. Pyrrha took full advantage and pressed forward, pushing into Jaune's space, and transforming Miló into its javelin form. Knowing that he could not allow her to gain momentum, Jaune took the best stance he could muster, and thrust his sword directly at Pyrrha.

The Mistralese champion was also aware of the importance of maintaining pressure in combat, and brought Akoúo up as she dashed forward. Instead of blocking or parrying the attack, she cradled Jaune's sword in one of the scooped indentations of her dipylon-style shield, and sharply twisted to her left. This kept her momentum and only added to Jaune's less than desired footing, allowing Pyrrha a full lunge, and drove Miló into the blond's breastplate. The attack sent Jaune hurling backward, and it appeared as if he was going to fall. However, Pyrrha had underestimated her captain's ability to recover, and was slightly taken aback to see him regain his balance. Knowing that there was no time to waste, Jaune dashed forward to begin his retaliation, but took his lieutenant by surprise once more, by aiming a strong front kick at her chest. Surprised, but not stunned, the redhead managed to bring up her shield in time to absorb the blow. It was now her turn to be knocked back, and now appearing as if she was going to fall over, Jaune dashed forward to continue capitalizing on his punish.

Unfortunately for Jaune, Pyrrha was not a champion for nothing, and turning the tide of battle was something she was very well versed in. She had angled Akoúo slightly to her right to utilized Jaune's kick to give herself momentum, and spin clockwise, transforming Miló back into its xiphos form. She swung her sword at the advancing Arc, aiming for his head, where Jaune just managed to halt his charge to lean backwards and avoid the attack. He was genuinely shocked that she had aimed for his head, which was exactly what Pyrrha wanted. She of course wasn't trying to decapitate her boyfriend, but she knew she had to stop his advance, while setting him up for a follow up attack. This came in the form of a solid back spinning high kick that connected squarely with Jaune's right cheek. That undeniably had rung his bell, which Pyrrha was aware of, and took full advantage of him recoiling by sending a fast but powerful spinning side kick directly into the centre of his breastplate.

This kick knocked the blond swordsman right off his feet, and he would have certainly crashed to the ground if his shoulders had not collided with the stone wall behind him. Nevertheless, the wind was knocked out of him, allowing Pyrrha to perform a sword flourish with Miló into its javelin form, before charging forward. Jaune lifted his head just in time to see her charge, and knew he had to get away from the wall to avoid being cornered. He pushed himself to his feet and moved to his right, expecting another javelin thrust, and planned to flank her after she committed to the attack. Unfortunately Pyrrha had expected this, for when she dashed forward and Jaune changed position, she jumped and kicked off the wall, twisting in the air and striking at him from above. Jaune's eyes widened, being taken off guard, and quickly raised his shield, using his legs to absorb the blow as much as he could before backing off.

'OK...this is going south fast' he thought, tasting blood in his mouth. 'I need to take her by surprise or else she'll just topple me again. I can't let this drag out either; she wins the long game every time. Let's try to shake things up.'

Jaune readied himself, tightening the grip on his sword, and rushed Pyrrha. She was surprised that he was pressing an attack so quickly, but was glad to see him not submitting to the pressure. The captain began a thrust, but quickly changed trajectory to aim lower. Pyrrha could tell that Jaune had overcommitted to the attack, and quickly parried the strike, causing Jaune to crouch and drive a quarter of Crocea Mors' blade into the roof. Without hesitating, Pyrrha did a backhanded slash at Jaune's chest, to then open him up to a combo that should end the fight. However, this was exactly what the blond wanted. Acting as fast as possible, Jaune torqued his chest so that his breastplate took most of blow, allowing him to get as close to Pyrrha as possible. He let go of his sword to grab her belt, and collapsed his shield so he could grab the top of her corset plackart. With all his might, he brought Pyrrha into a shoulder throw, and launched her several feet behind him.

This had genuinely taken the Mistral champion by surprise, not expecting him to begin utilizing grapples in combat. She was not helpless however, and instinctively tucked into a combat roll, making sure not to lose her grip of Miló and Akoúo. While she was in free fall, Jaune reopened his shield and pulled his sword out from the ground, before dashing in so not give Pyrrha a moment to breath. Quick as lightning, the redhead was facing her opponent once again, and saw Jaune preparing to strike down onto her. She quickly raised her sword and shield, planning to parry the attack and end the fight via disarmament. She rose with her plan, feeling certain of her predication of what Jaune was going to do.

To her surprise, Jaune had freighted his downward stroke, and instead flicked both sword and shield in an underhand motion, striking beneath Miló and Akoúo. It was a more powerful strike than Pyrrha had expected, but not enough to disarm her. Of course, that wasn't Jaune's plan, as he knew disarming Pyrrha was not only incredibly difficult, but wasted effort, as she could easily call her weapons back to her with her Polarity Semblance. His actual plan was far more unconventional. As soon as Pyrrha's arms where high enough, so that her line of sight with him was obscured, the blond let go of Crocea Mors and collapsed his shield, and ducked below. Before the Huntress-in-training knew what he was doing, Jaune spun past her, got behind, wrapped his arms around her waist, and with all his might, grappled Pyrrha into a German suplex. His plan was that the suplex would knock the wind out of her, and give him enough time to get on top of Pyrrha, and win the fight by pointing the tip of his sword at her throat, forcing her to yield.

Unfortunately for Jaune, it wasn't going to be so easy. The young swordsman had never done such a move before, and miscalculated the timing, the angle, and the amount of force required to perform the suplex correctly. As soon as the combined weight of Pyrrha and himself passed his shoulders, his heels slid out from under him, and both crashed to the ground. Jaune in the end was the one who took the brunt of the fall, causing him to wince, and lose his breath for a moment or two. When he opened his eyes, he was looking at the tip of Miló pointing right at the bridge of his nose, with Pyrrha kneeling above him. Her right hand gripped her sword in a reverse fashion with her left hand on the pommel, the blade hardly trembling.

"I will admit..." she said, breathing heavily but steadily, "...that took me off guard. I was not expecting you to use grappling techniques. That's not a bad idea, Jaune."

The blond blew a lock of his hair that was obscuring his view in a rather incredulous manner.

"Well, ideas being good or bad tend to rely on them succeeding or not" he said, slightly disappointed. Pyrrha attached Miló and Akoúo to her back before extending her hand and helping her captain to his feet.

"I don't think so. Plans rely greatly on their execution certainly, however, the plan itself can still be quite sound" she reasoned. "Tell me, what made you think of trying to grapple?"

"It's pretty obvious" Jaune began, dusting himself off before picking up his sword and shield. "I've only activated my Aura last fall, and I've yet to activate my Semblance. I fight with a straightforward style wielding a simple sword and shield. It doesn't transform and it doesn't turn into a gun. I figured I'd have to start getting creative with my fighting style to make it not only through the tournament but on actual Hunts."

Pyrrha nodded. "You're right. And not only did you successfully use grappling techniques to compliment you raw fighting power, but you utilized your armour correctly and effectively. You're using your best attribute to deal with combat, and you've come a long way. However, if you are going to use both grapples and armour, then we should work on muscular training, and you should look into getting fully armoured."

"Thanks, Pyrrha, but for now, it's too late. I can't grow a pair of shoulders in a day, and I can't get a proper full suit of armour made in time for the tournament."

"Of course, I'm just thinking about the future. Have you consulted the academy's Master-at-Arms?"

"No, I figured it'd be pointless for now" Jaune admitted. "Getting fitted for a full suit would take more time than I have, on top of then having to get used to fighting in full armour. That's my biggest problem right now; I just don't have the time. My Aura control is bad and I don't have enough time to catch up to everyone else. If I were to unlock my Semblance now, it wouldn't help as it takes months if not years to master your Semblance. I just need to do what I can with what I've got."

Pyrrha was quiet for a moment. She was worried that he was being too hard on himself, but he had thought through his situation rationally, leaving her without much to point out. However, it did prompt a question that she had wanted to ask ever since they had met.

"That's very wise of you. I do have a question in regards to making use of what's at your disposal. Why is Crocea Mors your weapon of choice? As you said, it doesn't transform or have a secondary function as a firearm. Have you considered upgrading or replacing it?"

Jaune fitted his sword to his belt before closing his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Crocea Mors is a family heirloom. It belonged to my great-great-grandfather who fought in the Great War. It's sorta how it is in my family. We've fought for generations with melee weapons, seeing it as the more honourable way to fight and serve. I've got nothing against firearms, far from it, but even when I was a kid, a sword had always been the weapon I wanted to use. Yeah, I'm pretty bad at it but...just holding one feels so...natural. I can't explain it any other way."

At that, Pyrrha smiled. "No, you've explained it perfectly" she said warmly, causing the blond to look at her curiously. "I grew up with my mother telling me every fairytale and legend under the sun. I fell in love with tales of warriors of old, charging into battle with sword and shield, ready to fight and die for their Gods and Kings. Glory, majesty, unity. I knew that one day I wanted to be a warrior, and my arms would be a sword and shield. It was just so natural for me as well. Is _any_ modification out of the question?"

"Yes" he replied, resting his left hand on the pommel of his sword. "Because it's an heirloom, it has a special purpose of being a training tool. When I become proficient enough, then I can get my own sword forged and do what I want with it. It's been a tradition to pass Crocea Mors from father to son, and in time, if the Gods are willing, I'll pass it on to my son."

He glanced at her when he said that last part before looking away, blushing slightly. Pyrrha caught his glaze and blushed as well, for the implication of having children with her caused butterflies to flutter in her stomach. Such things were far too soon of course, but there was something reassuring that Jaune was thinking of marriage and children as an important priority. Hunting was a dangerous profession, and Huntsmen growing old was less likely than not. This left many students to utter the eternal phrase "You don't want to die a virgin, do you?", as a way to reason to have carefree sex. That of course bothered Pyrrha greatly, so hearing him suggest that he took relationships seriously was comforting, and made her love him more.

"Well..." she began, placing her left hand on her captain's shoulder, "I will do everything that I can to help you master the sword, and respect your family's traditions."

Jaune looked at her and quickly succumbed to her infectious smile.

"Thanks, Pyrrha, though mastery is gonna take a while" he pointed out.

"All great journeys begin with a single step, as they say" she replied reassuringly. "You've been making wonderful progress with your swordsmanship. Even with Aura you've been far more dedicated, and developing a better grasp on controlling it. I can sense that your Semblance will awaken much sooner than you think if we continue on this training regimen. As for the tournament, I would still recommend getting small changes to your armour. You're correct about a full suit. Thusly, I would suggest replacing your spaulders with proper pauldrons."

She tapped the armour attached to his arm.

"They'll offer better protection, and will pair better with Crocea Mors. Furthermore, I would also replace these," she continued, taking his hand, indicating his gloves, "with gauntlets and vambraces. What you have now offers no protection, and if you decide to wield a longsword or a warsword, with gauntlets, you can make use of half-sword techniques. Plus," she tapped the armour on her forearms together, "vambraces can serve as a shield in a pinch. The same goes for your legs, where you should get greaves and cuisses, as I do."

Pyrrha raised her right leg to show the armour attached to her leather flat-heeled thigh-high boots, the base of the greaves resting comfortably on the instep of the boot.

"You were smart to go for my legs, however, I wouldn't have needed to dodge the attack, as I could have kicked your sword away. And lastly" she said, placing her hand on his chest, "your torso armour. This breastplate is too small, and does very little to protect your vitals. You should consider either adding a plackart to cover the lower half, or a proper full cuirass. Those would help you on such short notice."

Jaune raised an eyebrow at the beautiful champion and gave her a playful smirk.

"Is there anything else, professor?" he asked teasingly. "Because it sounds like you pretty much listed off a full suit of armour."

Pyrrha tried to keep a straight face, but ended up making a humorous pout, causing Jaune's smirk to grow at how cute she looked.

"Well, I'm sorry for trying to help!" she shot back in mock offense, giving her captain a playful shove. Jaune laughed and looked back at Pyrrha, seeing her pout had turned into a dazzling smile, and her cheeks slightly flushed.

'Gods, she gets more beautiful every time I look at her' he thought. 'Why didn't I ask her out sooner?'

"I know you are, and thanks. It means the world" Jaune said genuinely, getting a deeper blush from the swordswoman. "I'll swing by the school forge to see what can be done, though it's not the end of the world right now. I don't expect to get too far into the tournament."

This caused the redhead to frown. "Jaune, you need to be more confident in your abilities" she said dejectedly.

"It's not about confidence, it's about tactics" he replied, giving her an earnest glace. "I've gone over this year's tournament format, and I think I've come up with the best method to get us to the final round and win the whole shebang. The first round will be full teams against one another, so we're fine there. The second round will be doubles, so Ren and I will step out, leaving you and Nora to take on the competition. You two are the strongest on the team so that's a no-brainer. And then there's the final round which will be singles, which we'll leave to you. I've watched your old tournament fights in Mistral, and have trained enough with you to know that you excel at one-on-one combat. It'll be a breeze for you, cuz let's be honest, who could beat you? See? I'm positively _bursting_ with confidence."

Pyrrha looked at the blond smirking at her with his hands held out as if he were shrugging, and could not suppress a proud smile from spreading across her face.

"Jaune, that's absolutely outstanding" she beamed. "Hang on; is that the reason why you suggested that I start training with Nora?"

"Hey, like you said, gotta use my best attribute" he grinned, tapping his forehead. "Now where did we put our water bottles? I gotta get the taste of blood out of my mouth."

The redhead blinked in confusion at him, but now that she was aware, could see that the corner of Jaune's bottom lip had been split; exactly where she had kicked him.

"Oh, Jaune, I'm sorry!" she apologized, touching his right cheek with her left hand.

"Hey, it's fine! It's already mostly healed anyways" he replied reassuringly. "Even if my Aura control is crap, I can at least unconsciously heal quickly. Plus I've got countless bruises from all the training we do together, so what's a little split lip?"

"I–"

"Pyrrha" cut in Jaune, seeing the concern growing on her face. "I know you care about me. You're worried about my wellbeing, and that means more to me than I can ever put into words, but I need you to train me seriously. I'm the weakest member of this team, even though I'm the captain. I _need_ to get stronger. No matter how much blood, sweat, and tears it takes to get stronger, I have to grit my teeth and keep going. So don't hold back when we train together. Unless, I'm finally catching up and you _need_ to start fighting seriously for the sake of your pride" he added teasingly, leaning forward to come across as smug as possible. He meant none of it of course, but he knew what was in his control, and what was beyond it. He truly did need Pyrrha to avoid giving him any special treatment, and put aside her feelings for him in order to train him properly.

Regrettably, he may have overreached slightly, as the worried look the young woman had, melted quickly into one of regale indignation. Without speaking, Pyrrha raised her right hand and activated her Polarity Semblance, causing both her hand and Jaune's armour to glow red. Before the blond realized what was happening, he was thrown across the roof and crashed into the stone wall, though with enough care by Pyrrha to not hurt him. Jaune tried to move but immediately realized that he was completely immobile. He looked down at his armour, then to Pyrrha, and then off to the horizon, sucking on his teeth.

"Right, let me rethink that last statement" he stated. This washed away the redhead's facade, and she began to laugh.

"I'm so sorry! I just..." she tried to say, but her words were lost in laughter.

Jaune watched her with admiration. Without question, her laughter had become the most beautiful sound he had ever heard, and he made a small oath to make her laugh whenever possible. He may have teased her a bit too much this time round, but the results were still what he wanted.

"So it finally comes out. The _true_ Pyrrha Nikos" he began, preparing to rile her up once more. "Beautiful on the outside, but secretly cruel on the inside."

"Hold on just a moment, Jaune Arc" she retorted, her eyes flashing mischievously. She reversed the polarity and brought the young Huntsman-in-training back to her, but kept her hold on him, leaving him suspended several inches off the ground. "I'm secretly cruel? If I were as you described, I could have simply thrown you from atop the roof with my Semblance, would I not?"

Maintaining composure, Jaune fired back playfully.

"Perhaps. No doubt it was my handsome good looks that held back your full might" he stated matter-of-factly.

Pyrrha kept a smirk on her face, understanding the game he was playing, and continued to use the philosophy of speaking calmly and carrying a big stick. In this case, her Semblance represented the stick, and with a flick of the wrist, flipped Jaune around so that he was hanging before her at eye level, feet to the sky.

"Do you wish to rethink that last statement?" she asked sweetly.

Jaune paused for moment, more due to how close they were than for effect.

"Alright, _I_ was the one distracted by your beauty...and you were kind and merciful...because you're a wonderful teacher; a gift from the Gods, crafted in their image..."

"Alright, _now_ you are layering it on a tad thick" Pyrrha admitted, though she would be lying if she claimed that his words weren't making her heart flutter.

Jaune shrugged. "Hey, I'm honest if nothing else" he said sheepishly, earning a warm giggle.

The pair gazed at one another tenderly, becoming lost in each other's eyes. Their playful flirting had changed the air, first filled with the tension of battle, and now filled with the enticing aura of romance. Several times during their teasing, Pyrrha's urge to kiss Jaune had steadily risen, and now, being so close to him, was reaching a fever pitch. This was the perfect moment wasn't it? They had not yet gone on the date they had promised, but spending so many hours alone together training, had still strengthened their relationship. There had been many moments like these, growing in intensity, and leaving her to ask herself the same question again and again: was there anything truly wrong with taking things further?

Similar thoughts were racing through Jaune's mind. Over the course of the past few weeks, the time he had spent with Pyrrha had done more than sharpen his prowess with the sword. He began to see Pyrrha evermore as a woman, and was becoming infatuated with her. Every moment with her had been something that he wanted to treasure. It didn't matter if they were training or talking, it just felt right to be with her, and it made him happy. He had never felt happiness like this before; not that he had any prior dating experience, but this felt as if were straight out of a fairytale. And what was happening right now, felt exactly like that. Should he kiss her? He wanted to. It felt like the right moment; alone, together, joking and teasing, their faces so close. His heart was beginning to pound, and he was wrestling with the emotions that were growing inside. Was he starting to have feelings for her, or was it merely teenage hormones? He wanted to be sure of before doing something he would regret; something that would hurt the first person who had ever believed in him. He started into her vivid green eyes, more beautiful than emeralds, and felt every part of him want her to be in his arms. Was waiting till the end of the tournament so important, or was it just prolonging the inevitable?

Jaune's head began to move slowly, leaning in, and Pyrrha made no attempt to stop him, her own heart pounding like a drum in her ears.

Suddenly, the young Huntress-in-training's Scroll began to ring loudly, scaring both of them, and caused Pyrrha to lose control of her Semblance, allowing Jaune to crash onto the floor.

"Jaune! I'm so sorry!" she gasped, kneeling down to help him.

"It's fine!" the blond groaned, rolling over and accepting her hand, getting to his feet. "The ground broke my fall. You should...probably answer that" he added sheepishly, his cheeks flushed.

Pyrrha nodded, her own cheeks painted red, and using her Semblance once more, summoned her Scroll from the opposite side of the roof top, and hastily slid her finger across the screen.

"Yes, Nora?" she said as collected as she could be.

" _Hey! How's it going?_ " the ginger said energetically.

"I'm alright, and yourself?"

" _I'm good! Ren and I are about to start our training for today. What about you?_ "

"Jaune and I have already begun our sparing session. We're just taking a little break."

" _Huh...is that what you two are calling it, or are you actually training?_ "

"Nora!" Pyrrha hissed, quickly turning away from her captain to avoid him hearing.

" _What?_ "

The champion of Mistral wanted to scold her friend, who had been taking a great deal of enjoyment out of teasing her, but decided it would be best to leave that for another time.

"Did you call me just to ask questions that you already know the answers to, or was there something more pressing at hand?" she asked steadily.

" _Just wanted to make sure that we'll be meeting up with the others for lunch at the fairgrounds._ "

"Yes we are."

" _Good! Let's meet at our rooms to wash up before we go. Have fun!_ "

"You too. See you then."

" _Bye! And don't get distracted!~_ "

Pyrrha was about to make a retort, but the line went dead before she got the chance. She looked down at her Scroll and saw Nora's icon, a photo of her flashing a peace sign while giving the camera a cheeky wink, blink several times before fading into darkness. She wasn't annoyed with Nora exactly, as she was able to see the humour in her playful teasing, but she was nevertheless miffed. In this case, it was because she was starting to agree with her teammate about wanting more. The time she and Jaune were spending together was deepening her love for him, and the desire to kiss him was now at a near constant. Pyrrha supposed that this was how Nora felt, being with Ren for so long, wanting to be more than a friend to him; wanting to embrace him, but never being able to. She hadn't needed to wait for as long as Nora had, so feeling such impatience was rather childish of her. However, the heart wants what it wants, as they say.

"Is everything OK?" asked Jaune.

Pyrrha was shaken out from her thoughts, and quickly replied as calmly as she could.

"Yes! It was just Nora wanting to know if we were still meeting with Team RWBY for lunch after our training."

She briskly walked to the other side of the roof and placed her Scroll next to her sack where they kept their water bottles. She took one of them that she knew belonged to Jaune and tossed it to him, taking her time so that her flushed cheeks could pale once more. She returned to the centre of their makeshift dueling arena as Jaune brought the bottle to his lips.

"Then we should get back at it" he said, taking a swig.

"Of course. Are you ready?"

Jaune gargled the water before swallowing it in one gulp, and tossed the bottle to their packs. 

"Ready" he replied drawing Crocea Mors and took a fighting stance. "Round two, my lady?"

Pyrrha couldn't hold back a smile, and felt her cheeks reignite.

'Well, patience is a virtue after all' she thought, taking a fighting stance of her own. 'But I have to disagree that it is its own reward.'

With that in mind, she struck the flat edge of Miló twice against Akoúo and dashed forward.

λΛλ

Team JNPR stood before the fairgrounds with both awe and hunger in their eyes. The Beacon campus had been turned into a bustling fair, full of booths neatly organized in rows, selling everything from food, to clothing, to weapons and armour. People from all four Kingdoms were strolling through the makeshift streets, indulging themselves on all that Vale had to offer. The scents from the food stalls were wafting above the crowds, reaching the young students' noses with ease; Nora especially.

"I'm starving!" she chimed salivating, her eyes scanning for a suitable eatery.

"Same" added Jaune, grinning at his teammate's eagerness. "Where are the others?"

"I believe they are at a noodle shop" answered Pyrrha, shielding her eyes with her hand in order to spot it.

"There they are" pointed Ren, seeing their friends seated on stools before a booth. The party then made their way to the pop-up restaurant, and when they were close enough, began to overhear them apparently arguing with the owner.

"What?! How can my card be declined? I was barely into my monthly allowance!" reasoned Weiss, confused to why her credit card was rejected, though she was starting to put two and two together as to whom the culprit was.

"Maybe I could help?" offered Pyrrha with a smile, getting the attention of Team RWBY.

"Pyrrha!" cheered Ruby, throwing her arms in the air with delight.

"Aw, you don't have too..." said Yang.

"What are friends for? Think nothing of it" the redhead reassured.

"Mind if we join you?" asked Jaune.

"Please!" said Team RWBY in unison.

Team JNPR graciously sat on the stools adjacent to Team RWBY, and began to make their orders. Pyrrha paid for the meal in advance to assure the owner they wouldn't dine and dash, along with Team RWBY's tab, which he accepted graciously.

"So how's your training been?" asked Jaune after taking a forkful of his noodles.

"Great! We've been working really hard on our combinations, getting our teamwork in tip-top shape! We've come a long way since our initiation" said Ruby smiling, a proud look of accomplishment on her face.

"Indeed. The wrinkles in our battle tactics have been ironed out, our resolve has only sharpened in the process, and we've gone as far as planned a course of action to take us all the way to the final rounds" added Weiss, equally proud of herself.

"And that's just getting these two to stop bickering" quipped Blake as she added a healthy amount of chopped chilli peppers from a jar to her noodles, causing Yang to snort in her glass.

"Is something the matter?" asked Pyrrha with concern.

"No they're just like they always are; getting on each other's nerves and arguing over ballistics, Dust calibrations, ammo, impingement systems, yada yada yada" explained Yang, twirling her left hand in annoyance as she slurped a mouthful of noodles.

"You should have seen the last one about modifying bullets" followed Blake.

"Well..." began Ruby and Weiss together, causing Blake and Yang to immediately lean over and physically silence them.

"Don't start! We're _eating_ " groaned the Faunus. The elder Xiao Long agreed with several loud but muffled noises that hardly resembled words; her eyes wide, and cheeks puffed full of noodle.

Team JNPR laughed at their friend's antics, earning a look of amusement from Yang.

"So" she said after swallowing, "what about you guys?"

"We're ready to rock!" replied Nora, punching her fists together, grinning from ear to ear. "Jaune's got us on an intense training schedule. We get barely any free time, which sucks, BUT now we're _so_ much stronger than we were before. Our weapons are cleaned, oiled, locked, and loaded, plus we have a great plan to win the whole tournament. I've lost count at how many drills we've done, AND Jaune's come up with lots of really smart strategies. We can't lose!"

Ren nodded. "Jaune has taken the reins rather impressively."

"Absolutely" agreed Pyrrha with a warm smile.

The captain couldn't help cracking a smile of his own while scratching his cheek bashfully. He hadn't expected such glowing praise from his teammates, and was rather embarrassed by it. However, it wasn't shame he was feeling, but rather deep gratefulness. He had never been praised in such a way before, and knowing how genuine it all was, made his spirits rise to the heavens.

"Thanks, guys" he said softly, expressing his gratitude.

"So how about _your_ fighting ability?" inquired the shorter blonde, eyeing Jaune doubtfully.

"Jaune's been improving tremendously" defended Pyrrha, slightly perturbed by the look Yang was giving her crush.

"...Y-Yeah!" blurted out Nora, though with some hesitation.

Ren eyed Team RWBY and saw the dubious looks on their faces, before glancing at his teammates.

"Are you going to take that?" he asked with a small smirk of amusement.

Jaune sighed. "Well, they're not wrong; none of them. Pyrrha and Nora aren't wrong that I've gotten better at my swordsmanship, and Yang isn't wrong to question if it's enough. I have gotten better as a swordsman, and I can now handle my own against many good civilian sword practitioners. But I'm not a civilian. I'm training to be a Huntsman, and as I am now, going up against other Huntsmen, who have better grasps on their Auras and Semblances, and have more versatile weapons, leaves me pretty outmatched. I'm the weakest one here, so I have to do what I can with what I've got."

"Jaune..." frowned Pyrrha, again not liking him being down on himself. Quickly but smoothly, Jaune pressed a finger against her lips to silence her.

"Pyrrha, we talked about this" he countered firmly but gently, a content smirk on his face. "I'm not complaining, just stating facts. We all came here to train and to grow. Losing is part of the learning process, and I know, just like everyone else here, that the road to being a true Huntsman is long and hard. And hey, better to fail here than out in the wilds, right?"

The others watched and listened intently as Jaune spoke, giving him a gaze of silent approval when he finished. The remaining members of Team JNPR had of course seen Jaune's growth over the course of the past few weeks, and were even more proud of him. Team RWBY on the other hand had been far too preoccupied with their own training to spend time with their friends to notice, so it was a rather captivating experience to see the underdog captain display such maturity. Weiss was especially fascinated, as she harboured the most doubt that Jaune would accomplish anything. And yet here he was, dating the most distinguished Huntress-in-training of their generation, and articulating sage words of advice. What an incredible transformation he had undergone, and the way he looked at Pyrrha, which all present noticed and were entertained by, for it showed he was beginning to fall for her, pointed to the origin of that growth.

"Very well said, Jaune" expressed Weiss genuinely, a small smile of respect on her face.

The blond nodded in thanks, and glanced over at Yang who was smirking. Before he could say anything, the shorter blonde began to laugh quietly to herself.

"Long and hard" she giggled childishly.

Jaune sighed again. "I was going to say 'thank you' for not ruining the moment, but never mind..." he bemoaned, though he had a regale grin on his face.

Nora burst out laughing as Ren shook his head slowly, smirking in equal amusement as his captain. Blake couldn't suppress a laugh; through she managed to pass most of it through her nose, whilst Ruby was embarrassed as she usually was by her sister's sexual jokes. Weiss on the other hand was not shy about showing her displeasure with Yang's sense of humour, as her eyes nearly rolled out of her skull. Pyrrha was blushing, though not directly due to Yang's joke, but Jaune's commanding certainty, and him touching her lips. The secret desire for him to press his lips instead of his finger onto hers reared itself to tease her heart yet again, and she did her best to suppress it.

Suddenly, the sound of a ringtone began to play over their laughter, turning their attention to the Schnee heiress who was fishing out her Scroll. She gave her phone a glance, and with an annoyed sneer, instantly killed the call.

"Crank call?" asked Nora.

"Worse..." huffed the Atlassian heiress.

"Her father has been calling her since the article of her and Neptune was printed" explained Yang.

"He probably blocked your card because you won't talk to him" mused Blake, a tad sympathetic given her own radio silence with her family.

"Why aren't you speaking to him?" asked Pyrrha, unsure as to why Weiss would be so reluctant to speak to her family, as she had openly spoken to her mother after her own article was published.

"Because...because..." Weiss began, struggling with how to properly express her frustration that had been building for years.

"He's controlling, demanding, believes he's always right, puts the family legacy over the wishes of his children, never satisfied with what you accomplish..." listed Jaune with a somber face, causing the others to turn their heads to him.

Weiss looked up at him with intense eyes; a face mixed with restrained surprise and fierce curiosity. A pensive frown formed on her brow as she eyed the young man with fascination for the second time that day.

"That was suspiciously close to the mark..." she said at last, examining him in a new light.

Jaune lifted up his glass to eye level as if he were proposing a toast.

"Here's to overbearing fathers" he sighed with tired sarcasm, before taking a swig.

The group looked at him with concerned curiosity. Jaune had never spoken about his past or his family, publicly or privately with them before, other than what he had told Pyrrha regarding the tradition of Crocea Mors. They all noticed the look in his eyes containing some hurt he had never revealed prior to now, which in retrospect, explained some of his previous actions.

"Did you have to deal with something similar as of late?" asked Weiss slowly.

Jaune twirled some noodles and brought it to his mouth.

"I haven't called home yet" he confessed, knowing what she had meant, before taking a bite.

"Jaune" sighed Pyrrha, "you said you would as soon as possible. The reporters have certainly been working like mad to dig into your past, as well as your family's."

The swordsman shut his eyes, not wanting to look at his lieutenant, as he knew he'd become washed with guilt.

"I got so swamped with the training and the planning for the tournament that it slipped my mind" he lied, feeling his appetite turning into queasiness.

"Jaune" the redhead said again, this time with the gentle but firm demeanor that she used when trying to advise him, placing her right hand on his left cheek so that he would look her in the eye. "The tournament will begin in a few days. There is no longer any time to train, our plans are set, and we are currently in our cool down. You have enough time before the games begin to call them and let them know. Please, for me?"

Jaune felt the guilt hit him like a sledgehammer as he saw the concern in her eyes. He hated lying to her. He hated making her worry. He knew that even if he explained the situation to her, she would still insist that he call them out of courtesy and respect. In the end, he knew she was right, and nodded.

"Alright" he conceded. "I'll call them tomorrow, after I take care of few things so there'll be no distractions."

"Thank you" she said with a small smile, the worry in her face melting into warm gladness, knowing he was speaking truthfully. As always, Jaune returned the smile, and gazed back at her, allowing himself to be absorbed by her beautiful emerald eyes.

Once again, the others watched the couple forget where they were, and waited with amused delight for them to realize the change in atmosphere. Yang in particular was observing them with both amusement, and even a tinge of jealously, as she rested her chin in the palm of her right hand, elbow on the table. An incredibly smug smirk was on her face, and she was no longer able to stay silent.

"Gods, you two have it _bad_ for one another" she said at last, shaking her head in disbelief.

The oblivious couple quickly snapped back to reality and looked at the blonde Huntress-in-training, before realizing that all of their friends were looking at them with amusement. Their faces began to glow red from embarrassment, the knowledge setting in that they had repeated what had occurred at breakfast the day after the Dance.

"I know, right?" added Nora, before Jaune and Pyrrha could defend themselves. "They do this _a lot_ now. Can you imagine what else they do when they're alone training?"

"Nora!" gasped Pyrrha, her face now matching her hair.

"Oooo. Got any juicy details to share?" asked Yang grinning.

"I'm doing my best to get her to spill the beans, but sadly, nothing" sighed the thunderess shrugging.

Ren nudged her yet again. "Be nice" he said as he usually did, though he was starting to also find pleasure in the new sport of teasing their captain and lieutenant. Of course he hardly had a leg to stand on, but for now, he would enjoy himself; with moderation.

Jaune and Pyrrha stared at their half eaten bowls of noodles, cheeks burning and shame mounting. They had no reason to feel so self-conscious of course, as there was nothing wrong with them feeling so strongly about one another. While they were still well over a week away from their first official date, the pair had behaved no differently than any other couple their age; minus the passionate kissing and lovemaking. While sex was still too soon, the desire to kiss was staring to become unbearable for the both of them. To further fuel that desire, was the teasing from their friends. The teasing didn't hurt them, it didn't offend them, but it _did_ birth a thought that both shared without admitting it one another. What if they just threw caution and patience to the wind? Forget waiting till the end of the tournament, forget trying to go on a date and avoid noisy fans and journalists, and simply find quiet places on campus, and kiss between training sessions till the cows come home. That way, what was there to be embarrassed about?

Their young bodies certainly agreed with that idea, and every moment alone they would be reminded of it, but there was something holding them back. For Jaune, it was still the sense of feeling undeserving of Pyrrha's love. He had been brutally honest about his abilities to remind himself of how much more he needed to grow. He couldn't deny that every time he was with her, he wanted so desperately for her to be in his arms; to hold and kiss her. Over the past few weeks, Jaune had begun to develop feelings for Pyrrha. He wanted to be with her. He wanted to be by her side, and for her to be beside his. He knew that the only way he could have that, was to continue to self-improve, and be the best man and captain he could be.

Pyrrha felt all the same desires he did; to kiss, to cuddle, and to finally be together. His flirtatious quips would make her heart skip a beat, and she genuinely loved every time he made them. She loved feeling desired, she loved the way he looked at her, and she loved who he truly was when not pretending to be something else. Pyrrha loved everything about him; which was why she was hesitant to take things further. She loved him so dearly, that she was fearful of making a mistake, and ruining what they had and what they could have. She wanted her relationship with Jaune to work, as she truly felt that he was her one true love. Her mother had told her when she was young, that the moment she had met her father, she knew they were going to get married. Pyrrha hadn't understood how her mother had been so sure then, but now after meeting Jaune, she finally did. Now however, she wished she had asked more questions so she could know how to approach this relationship with more confidence.

"Let them date at their own pace" defended Weiss, causing the others to look at her in surprise, and it was now Jaune's turn to look at the Schnee heiress with fascination. "We will know soon enough how their relationship is progressing."

" _Fine_ " sighed Yang, tossing her hair over her shoulder. Then an idea struck her, and she turned to face the right side of the stall, a smug smile plastered on her face. "And how are things progressing with Neptune?"

Weiss' cheeks tinted pink at the mention of the Vacuan Huntsman-in-training.

"Things are going well" she replied guardedly.

"Nothing to share after all this time? It's been a while since the Dance."

"As I said the last time you asked, Team SSSN has been just as busy as the rest of us, getting ready for the tournament. Where do you think Neptune and I had the time to spend together?"

"Hello?" asked Yang, gently shaking her Scroll in her left hand. "The Horn messaging app exists for a reason. You can at least text him and keep up with him."

"I have. And we've had many pleasant conversations" Weiss shot back, while remaining measured.

"Pleasant or flirty?"

The white-haired heiress squinted at her.

"I will let you know how things develop in due course" she affirmed slowly.

Yang rolled her eyes as she sighed, annoyed by how little information her friends were sharing. She then shifted her attention the Blake, who knew she would be the next target placed in the fiery blonde's crosshairs, and braced herself.

"What's new, pussycat? Been monekying around with Sun?" she asked without hesitation.

Blake immediately began to cough in shock, not expecting to be hit with the double whammy.

"Well that was direct" grinned Nora.

"Better than beating around the banana tree" Yang punned.

Blake quickly recovered, and looked at the elder Xiao Long sister, wide-eyed and cheeks flushed.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"Don't play dumb" shot back Yang, leaning in and looking into the Faunus girl's eyes. "We all know how proactive Sun is. And I _know_ you like that about him more than you let on, so what's been going on since the Dance?"

Blake swallowed at her friend's interrogation, still not used to having such conversations with people. She slowly pointed to her right at Weiss with her left hand while maintaining eye contact.

"What she said" the raven-haired Huntress-in-training.

"Oh c'mon!" Yang cried incredulously. "You've gotta give me _something_ to work with!"

"Why are you so fixated on knowing about what we do in our personal lives?" asked Blake, reluctant to reveal anything more.

"Because I like to talk to my friends about fun things like boys, as it breaks up the monotony of the more boring parts of school life" explained the blonde matter-of-factly. "Also, being single _sucks_ , so offering advice lets me help my less experienced friends while I'm still looking."

"But you don't have any experience" noted Ruby, essentially throwing her sister under the bus. 

"And I'm blaming dad for that" she shot back. "He would always watch over us like an eagle, never letting any boys get close to us. I figured that going to Beacon and getting away from his ever piercing eyes, I could finally date in peace. So far, not a damn one."

"He's just being a dad" defended Jaune, "though he should count himself lucky to have just two daughters. I have seven sisters, so my dad has his work cut out for him. Still does since I have sisters younger than me."

Yang simply mumbled as she continued to eat her noodles, not wanting to concede to the other blond.

"Well, if there is one thing that the Vytal Festival is not short of, it would be new young people" added Pyrrha looking at the crowds. "I am sure if you look around you will find someone that catches your eye."

" _That_ is what I'm hoping for" said Yang, polishing off her bowl. "Right. I think I'm gonna head out and check out the fair grounds."

"Let us finish eating and we will join you" said Weiss.

"Well, hurry up!"

"I think we will do the same" added Pyrrha pushing her bowl forward and allowing the owner to whisk it away. "Transferring to Beacon was my first time in Vale, and I would like to know more of it. Would you mind showing me around?" she asked Jaune with a smile.

"Not at all" replied Jaune, smiling back and rising to his feet.

"Oooo, can we get dessert?" Nora asked Ren, jumping up excitedly, eyes sparkling.

"I am sure we'll find something" reassured the quiet young man.

Yang glared at them enviously. "And of course, Team Couples decide to rub it in my face right before leaving" she jeered, her eyes drifted from Jaune and Pyrrha to Ren and Nora. The former couple looked at the brawler apologetically, not meaning to offend. However, the latter couple was blushing, not expecting to also be referred to as such.

"U-Uh, we're not together-together" corrected the ginger awkwardly, repeating the now infamous phrase that was beginning to sting every time she said it.

"Whatever you say" Yang retorted, not believing a word of it. "Go on ahead. I'm sure we'll run into each other eventually."

"And thanks again for paying for lunch. We owe you" added Blake with a small but sincere smile.

"Oh it's fine" the redhead reassured with a smile, though it was now turning slightly smug. "Think of it as a consolation from the winning team."

Immediately fire sparked in the eyes of Team RWBY. Jaune looked at his lieutenant with confusion for a moment, before realizing what she was doing. Pyrrha was a veteran of Mistral's gladiatorial combat culture. She had participated in countless tournaments, starting from a young age. Thus, this was just her furthering that experience into the Vytal Festival Tournament. She hadn't meant to offend their friends, but instead to playfully taunt them as a form of encouragement. Of course they were all friends, but while that was true, they were still competitors in this tournament, and would undoubtedly face once another in the later rounds.

"See you in Top 8, Nikos" stated Yang, grinning eagerly, her eyes turning red. The remaining members of Team RWBY each displayed a variation of Yang's eagerness, proving that Pyrrha's comment had done exactly what she wanted it to.

Team JNPR walked away from the stall grinning back at their friends, with Nora taking it one step further by signalling to them with her middle and index finger pointing at her eyes, saying that she was going to keep an eye on them. Ruby stuck her tongue out at them, but felt the same way as her sister, and was very much looking forward to the tournament.

λΛλ

Team JNPR wandered through the makeshift lanes of the fairgrounds with wide eyes. The booths were stacked shoulder to shoulder, with the attendees similarly assembled, as they shuffled from one vendor to another. Ren and Nora had never been to a festival before, and were soaking up all the sights and sounds. Well, that wasn't entirely true. The pair had snuck into smaller fairs before to steal food when they were younger, so having the ability to experience the festivities had been impossible. Thankfully those days were long behind them, and now they could enjoy themselves as fairgoers.

Jaune has been to a number of festivals and fairs growing up. Coming from a larger family, such events were the perfect place to bring children and have a good time on summer evenings. Pyrrha had done the same as a child, her parents taking her to local festivals, which were common in Mistral. However, in Mistral, many if not most festivals had small combat tournaments, where non-Huntsmen could take part in classical fighting. The larger festivals had separated brackets divided by age, gender, and expertise, with the higher skilled brackets making use of steel swords instead of padded wooden ones used by less experienced combatants. It was here, alongside the many fairytales told to her by her mother, which had birthed the young champion's love of battle and swordsmanship. She would marvel at the competitors clashing swords and spears against shields, fighting for cash prizes and for glory. Her favourites were the Ancient Warrior brackets; separate groupings for fighters who would go so far as to armour themselves in full suits, as warriors once did in the elder days. They would drape themselves in the colours of their houses, though many were designed for the sake of the tournaments, as very few people came from prestigious families these days. To Pyrrha, the combination of chrome steel and colourful banners, was more beautiful than any painting. 

Her upbringing would surprise no one after learning of it, for it explained why Pyrrha had chosen the life and style she had. She never forgot those desires from her childhoods however, and planned to take up the sport as a hobby after establishing herself as a professional Huntress. And with Jaune as a boyfriend, it would certainly be something they could do together. Only they could consider a hard day of combat as a romantic date.

While Jaune and Pyrrha were eyeing the booths, reminiscing of their childhoods, Nora was on the hunt for something sweet.

"Ooo Ren, look! They've got ice cream and stuff over there!" the ginger pointed excitedly. Before the stoic Huntsman-in-training could say anything, Nora grabbed him by the arm and dragged him towards the vender.

Jaune and Pyrrha couldn't help but laugh at their friends, though the suggestion of ice cream did sound rather appetizing.

"Should we get some?" asked the blond.

"Why not?" Pyrrha replied with a smile.

"Anything in particular? My treat."

"Well..." she thought for a moment before smiling, "surprise me."

"Alright. My first test; which I am sure will go terribly. I'll be right back" Jaune said courtly before walking briskly in the direction his teammates had flown to.

Pyrrha giggled as she watched him disappear into the crowd. While she very much enjoyed his flirtatiousness when they were alone, it was his cuteness that had initially charmed her. He was completely unaware of it of course, which only made Pyrrha enjoy it more, as it was so genuine and tender. She kept her smile as she began to browse the stalls behind her as she waited for Jaune's return, when she heard her name being called.

"You're Pyrrha Nikos!"

The young champion looked up to see it was a boy, a few years younger than herself, with several other people around him.

"Yes I am" she replied politely, standing straight.

"I'm a huge fan! Could I get an autograph, please?" he asked with a large smile, a pen and promotional photo from her Sanctum days in his hands.

Pyrrha smiled back and extended a hand to accept the photo, and began to repeat a routine she had grown accustomed to over the past few years.

It wasn't as if she disliked this aspect of being a celebrity, far from it; she would go as far to say that it was one of her _favourite_ parts of gaining international fame. Having fans that cheered her on was an incredibly humbling experience for her, especially when there were young boys and girls that looked up to her. She had taken many photos with children who said they were inspired to become Huntsmen because of her, and were practising every day to become strong. She couldn't put into words how touched she was to hear such things from people, especially children. Instead, she put those feelings into actions. It drove her to fight harder and continue to improve, as if she _owed_ them that dedication as a thank you for their support. It also strengthen her belief in the Huntsman cause, for if she was being considered an ambassador by inspiring more young people to take up arms and defend their Kingdoms, then she was doing near holy work.

What she truly hated about her status, was of course, the disconnect. Pyrrha was the epitome of a "people-person", as she loved being with people and interacting with them. She loved going to tournaments, meeting new people, combatants and attendees alike, and talking to them. At first she loved the opportunities she was granted from winning tournaments, as she was free to enter more challenging competitions, and thus meet the best fighters of her generation. It was soon after however, that she began to notice the distance between herself and the other students when she attended Sanctum Academy. Making friends wasn't possible, for they thought she was beyond them, as if she were in a class they had not earned the right to entre. This left dating an even more impossible venture. Jaune hadn't been the first boy she had crushed on, but he had certainly been the first to treat her like a woman. The boys she had tried to get close to wouldn't return her advances, nearly recoiling, as if they were too close to fire. They, like others, treated her as if she was royalty, and none were worthy to be with her. Pyrrha had encountered some other Huntresses that had similar experiences, but had gone in entirely different directions. They had decided to avoid dating all together, throwing away any attempt to be feminine and dedicate themselves to training for the Hunt.

The red-haired champion could not accept that ultimatum. Many Huntsmen dated and married other Huntresses, so why was that not possible for her? She wanted to dedicate herself to the cause, but still wanted to find someone to love and build a life together. And where better to find such a person than the schools where likeminded young people gathered? Sanctum had been such a place, but Pyrrha had quickly learned that her reputation preceded her, making relationships of any kind impossible. The stronger she grew, the higher atop the pedestal she was placed, and the more alone she felt. It was then that she made the decision to attend Beacon instead of going the expected route to Haven. It was a school on a continent different than her own, and she hoped that with that great distance would come fewer people to keep her on that pedestal. Her mother was a little hesitant to have her only child travel to the other side of the world to be educated as a Huntress. However, she was the only person who truly understood what Pyrrha felt, and eventually agreed. At first, Pyrrha thought she had succeeded, but soon she began to meet more and more people who recognized her, treating her as she had been in Mistral.

And then Jaune made his appearance. Not the most graceful of entrances, but an entrance nonetheless. The moment Pyrrha had laid eyes on him, she had become interested. His handsome but cute features, his golden locks, and his deep blue eyes, that had a hint of mischievousness behind them. She knew other women wouldn't have found him all that appealing, but she thought he was rather attractive, something she thought more so with every interaction she had with him. He treated her as if she were any other person, and judged her on her qualities instead of her titles. It was more liberating than she could ever put into words, and she had yet to tell him it was the reason she was now in love with him. What she had told him at the Dance was only a fraction of what she truly felt, and things had only grown since then. However, as she signed yet another portrait, posed for more photos, and noticed that the crowd had only grown, she felt in her chest that her chances of sharing that with him today would be impossible. She had hoped to spend the rest of the day with him alone and enjoy each other's company, and yet, couldn't help but feel a mixture of guilt and exasperation. She felt guilty because she wanted to abandon her kind fans, and she felt exasperated because she wanted time alone with Jaune. Seeing no way to rescue herself from her predicament, she maintained her smile and continued to indulge her adoring public.

From beyond the crowd stood the aforementioned blond with two ice cream bowls, one in each hand, watching his lieutenant being swarmed. He had taken his time choosing the right flavour of ice cream for Pyrrha, but now realized he should have chosen faster to avoid Pyrrha being recognized. His eyes rested on her and saw that she was thankfully, smiling, though he noticed it was not as genuine as he had become accustomed to. After spending so much time alone with Pyrrha, he had begun to notice and recognize her subtle facial expressions and body language. She had never been a good liar to begin with, however, as a more experienced warrior, the Mistralese champion knew how to make herself unreadable in combat. Despite that, this wasn't combat, and after hearing the young woman express her frustrations, he knew she wanted to, at least for a while, step away from Pyrrha Nikos the champion of Mistral, and simply be Pyrrha Nikos the student.

Jaune knew he had to get her away from the crowd, but how he was to achieve that was not so obvious. He couldn't just walk in and tell them to buzz off, as he knew how terrible it would look, but he also knew Pyrrha didn't have it in her to push them away. Could he call her and just say that he was giving her an out? She could say that her team needed her and no one could her fault her for it.

'No, that won't work" he thought. 'She can't lie to her fans, and making her to would be wrong. What if I just go up to her so they know that was she busy before they came up to her? She'd say she just needs to finish up and she'll be ready to join me, which will give them a clue to buzz..."

The idea died then and there, as he looked down at himself and winced. He was painfully reminded of how he looked, with his old subpar armour and casual clothes he used as his combat attire. He knew just how amateurish he appeared, but next to Pyrrha, it was downright comical. There was no way he could walk up to her fans looking as he did, especially after the piece that was written about him. He had previously stated that he didn't care what others thought of him, and he did indeed mean that, but after their conversation of getting new armour, he began to think of his appearance in terms of looks as well as functionality. Now that he was potentially in the line of sight of her fans, he was forced to admit how bad he looked; especially beside the Mistralese Champion. He could hear people's commentary in his mind clear as day: "Is he even taking his Huntsman training seriously?". He certainly was, but they didn't know that, and despite what they were all taught as children, people _did_ judge books by their covers.

He then began to hear words of the past making their way to the present; of how a man was to present and carry himself. The blond couldn't help himself from gritting his teeth, as he recognized the person who was speaking. His stubborn nature began to fight back, not willing to give credence to the speaker, even if his words were proving to be true. He still had his pride after all.

As Jaune mulled over the situation he now found himself in, he noticed that the crowd was beginning to disperse, and he tried to see what was causing them to leave. They were waving goodbye to Pyrrha, who hadn't moved from where she stood, and since they were all leaving together, Jaune wondered if an event was now taking priority over her. When the crowd was finally gone, Pyrrha looked about her to see where he was, and quickly made her way to him when she did.

"I'm sorry for making you wait, Jaune" she said with an apologetic smile. "I was noticed by a few of them, and that began to attract the rest. This happens quite often back home in Mistral, and I should have expected to be recognized with all these people attending the festival. Have you been waiting long?"

"No not at all. I should have guessed that would happen too, but since it hadn't until today, it never crossed my mind" he replied honestly. "So don't apologize. It's not your fault you're so popular, other than being as amazing as you are."

His words caused Pyrrha's cheeks to flush, which eased her guilt for getting in the way of their time together.

"Thank you, Jaune."

"You're welcome. So uh...here's your ice cream" said Jaune, offering one of the bowls to Pyrrha.

The red-haired young woman accepted the bowl graciously, and saw that it contained Neapolitan ice cream.

"Is it OK?"

"Yes, thank you, Jaune" she replied smiling.

"You sure? You said to surprise you so I wasn't sure which to go with. Then I thought that maybe you would have preferred frozen yogurt, since you'd probably want something healthier. I didn't want to make you wait too long, so I just went with Neapolitan. I figured with three flavours my chances were better than going with one."

"It's fine, Jaune. I like Neapolitan. There's no need to fuss over it."

The blond breathed a small sigh of relief, feeling a tad silly that he had stressed over something as trivial as ice cream. Pyrrha noticed this, and a slightly mischievous thought crossed her mind.

"Strawberry frozen yogurt is my favourite, though" she added. Jaune quickly looked at her with a regretful expression on his face, causing Pyrrha to snicker. "Oh don't make that face!" she chimed, nudging him with her elbow playfully. "Now you know for next time. So what flavour did you get for yourself?"

Jaune held up his bowl and revealed it to be chocolate chip, with cookie pieces added on top. However, when Pyrrha took a closer look, she realized that they weren't cookie pieces at all.

"Are those clumps of Pumpkin Pete's?" she asked.

Jaune cleared his throat while rubbing the back of his head.

"I know they aren't great for you, but, I still like them" he admitted sheepishly.

Pyrrha began to giggle at him, his adorable demeanor getting to her once again. She then reacted over and plucked one of the bunches out of the blow, and popped it into her mouth.

"Me too" she confessed, knowing it was certainly a guilty pleasure. "But I think given how much training we've accomplished over the past few weeks, a treat is in order."

The captain looked down at the smiling redhead, and returned it.

"Shall we?" he asked, extending a hand down the fairground lane, indicating they go for a walk.

"Yes, let's" replied Pyrrha.

"We should probably find a more secluded place to eat though; to avoid another crowd of your fans recognizing you."

"True" she sighed. "Have you an idea of where we could go?"

Jaune paused for a moment. "How about the Forest of Forever Fall? It's far enough that no random festivalgoer or tournament competitor would wander in and see us."

Pyrrha nodded, though felt a slight pang of woe in her chest. She knew that the further they continued their relationship, the more care they would have to take to avoid the prying eyes of onlookers. It was a constant reminder that things would not be so easygoing between them thanks to her celebrity status. However, before she could dwell on that displeasing thought, Jaune placed a finger under her chin to look her in the eye; a soft but stern look on his face.

"If some small inconveniences like these are all I have to put up with, then I've got no right to complain. So don't let it get to you, OK?" he reassured her softly, a tender smirk spreading.

Pyrrha's cheeks began to turn pink at his forwardness, but she couldn't help returning the smile, knowing he was right.

"Alright. Thank you, Jaune" she said.

"No need. Now eat your ice cream" he replied with a tone of mock authority.

The Mistralese champion laughed. "Yes, sir" she answered with a salute before bringing the bowl below her chin to eat a spoonful. "Such a bossy captain."

Jaune eyed her in amusement, and without warning, bumped the bottom of her ice cream bowl so that the lower half of her face pressed into it. Pyrrha jolted in surprise, making sure not drop the bowl, and revealed that her nose, lips, and chin, now had a light coating of ice cream.

"Jaune!" she gasped, looking up to see the cheeky grin plastered on his face.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you!" he exclaimed with mock theatrics.

Pyrrha slapped the blond's shoulder, cutely fuming at his antics.

"You're such a child!" she laughed, licking her lips. "Now give me napkin, please."

Jaune's grin dropped from sudden realization.

"Oh crap, I rushed to get back and forgot to grab some" he confessed. He began to look around for another food stall to ask for some, feeling rather embarrassed for the oversight.

"It's alright, I see a bathroom" said the redhead, and handed him her bowl. "I'll be right back. Don't get into trouble."

"Yes, _mom_ " he replied with an exaggerated tone, rolling his eyes. He smiled as he heard her laugh, and watched her lovingly as she made her way to the bathroom and entered it.

He breathed in deeply as he contemplated, as he often did these days, on his relationship with Pyrrha. What an incredible young woman she was. He was hilariously out of his league, and yet, here they were, flirting and spending time together. His thoughts drifted to their sparing session only two hours prior, and how he unconsciously began to try and kiss her. No, not unconsciously; he _wanted_ to kiss her. He thought back to when their faces were mere inches from one another, and how badly he wanted to kiss her; to hold her in his arms and never let go. He had those thoughts coming into his mind more times than he could count, which didn't help that there had been a number of moments that appeared to be _the_ moment. Today had been the first where he had actually made a move to turn those thoughts into reality. Pyrrha hadn't tried to stop him, though to be perfectly honest, why _would_ she stop him? She was the one who had been crushing on him since the beginning of their attendance at Beacon, and the ball was in his court. It wasn't shocking that she accepted to go on a date with him, but she was clearly further down the line than having a mere crush. If he was being entirely honest, he was too, and the realization that they were going to be alone and secluded for potentially the rest of the afternoon, placed a new thought to the forefront of his mind.

_Why not make a move?_

Everything seemed right. Their training was done, their relationship had only strengthened since Pyrrha's confession, and their near kiss had made it clear things were becoming serious, even if they hadn't spoken more deeply on the topic of relationships.

'Well, there was that comment about having a son...' he thought, unable to stop his mind from conjuring an image of a smiling Pyrrha holding a baby with matching red hair, swaddled, and bearing his likeness. 'Stop that' he told himself. 'You know what thoughts like that mean. You haven't even called home yet...'

He tried to shake the image from his thoughts, which he was having more trouble doing than he expected, as it was a rather beautiful image indeed. What did succeed in bringing him back to reality, was something entirely different.

"You Jaune Arc?" asked a voice.

The blond looked up to see a group of four young men about his age, each looking at him with clear disdain on their faces. He noticed they were all armed with melee weapons, and each had the Mistral Kingdom and Haven Academy crests, the latter being a castle keep with a central doorway and two flanking towers with machicolations, corbels, crenulations, and merlons, sown proudly on their clothes. Jaune knew instantly what was going on and sighed, realizing it was now his turn to be on the chopping block of celebrity. Of course, these people clearly were not his adoring fans.

"That's me. How can I help you?" he replied, deciding to remain civil for the time being.

One of the Haven students stepped forward, presumably the one who had asked the question, and stood only a foot away from Jaune. He was about his height, with short black hair, black eyes, and a scar running up his jaw on the left side of his face. He eyed Jaune before making a quick snicker through his nose, and smirking unimpressed.

"The photos in the papers don't do you justice. You're far more pathetic in person" he jeered, getting laughs from his teammates.

Jaune stared back at him with an equal lack of admiration.

'And here we go' he thought. He turned and placed the two bowls of ice cream on top of the trash bin to his left, before looking back at the foreign student, straightening his back and resting his hands on his sword belt. "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint. Was that all you want to say to me?"

"Now that I know what you really look like, no" replied the Havenite, as he began to circle Jaune. "Cheap armour, possibly second hand..." he commented, "old sword, definitely second hand...garbage fighting attire...how in the Hell did you make it this far?" he finished, standing before him, shaking his head.

Jaune's jaw tightened, but he said nothing. This was nothing new to him. He had been bullied since he entered Beacon, though that had finally stopped after standing up to Cardin and his team. He could let this all slide, so long as this jackass only had his sights on him, and not Pyrrha and the others.

"I guess the papers were right; Pyrrha Nikos must have just felt pity for him that one night, cuz there is _no_ way they're actually dating."

That caused Jaune to tighten his grip on his belt, his patience running out faster than he had planned.

"I tell you what boys..." continued the Havenite, looking over his shoulder, "if Nikos is into boys like this, then she must pretty desperate since coming to this plac–"

Without warning, the foreign student's insult was cut short by a shockingly hard hitting punch that knocked him to the ground. He coughed in shocked, with one hand clutched his bleeding nose, which he instantly knew was broken. He looked up in anger and confusion, trying to figure out what hit him, and only saw Jaune standing before him. His right hand hung taunt to his side, with his left hand still gripping his sword belt tightly, glaring at him with eyes that could freeze lava.

"You can say whatever the fuck you want about me..." Jaune said steadily, though with more harshness in his voice than he had ever displayed before. "However..." he continued, his left hand gripping the hilt of Crocea Mors, "...insulting Pyrrha like that..." he forcibly drew the first two inches his sword, "is unforgivable."

The bleeding Havenite stared back at the blond with mute shock. He could see the rage burning in his eyes, and felt what he could only presume was the seemingly pathetic boy's killing intent. It was as if a mouse had suddenly turned into a lion without warning. Was this all a ruse? Or was this who he truly was, and the dopey fool he thought he was, _was_ the ruse? Knowing how tense this situation had just become, he decided that he didn't want to find out.

While these thoughts were running through his mind, his teammates had all reached for their weapons the moment Jaune had partially drawn his sword.

"Stop!" growled the injured student, getting to his feet. "Let's not get disqualified before the damn tournament starts". He looked back at Jaune who hadn't relaxed, and kept his glare trained on him, looking as if he would cut his head off in an instant. "We'll deal with him in the arena. You better watch yourself, Arc" he added, turning his back to the blond, and left with his teammates tailing behind.

When they were finally out of sight, Jaune finally relaxed and sheathed Crocea Mors, breathing a sigh of relief. He had never gotten that angry in his life, but it was perfectly understandable why he had. He was ready and willing to fight for Pyrrha's honour, but he was still glad he was able to end the altercation without resorting to violence. Well, without _too_ much violence.

"Jaune..." came a soft voice from his eight o'clock.

The blond turned to see Pyrrha emerge from the entrance of the bathroom, with a very concerned expression on her face. Jaune froze, knowing that she had witnessed everything, or at least him punching the Mistralese student.

"How much of that did you see?" he asked finally.

"From when he began to mock your sword till the end" she replied, walking forward while maintaining her distressed gaze. "Jaune, I'm so sorry that happened. I should have stepped in, but I saw how you were handling the situation, and I thought it would end peacefully."

"So did I, but as soon as he..." Jaune began before stopping himself and looked at Pyrrha in confusion. "Wait...why are you apologizing?"

"Because they were belittling you for being with me; why else?"

"Belittling me?" the swordsman echoed in disbelief, "It's what they were saying about _you_ that pissed me off. I don't care what people say about me."

"Jaune, they were from Mistral, and they sought you out because of that article."

"And then they insulted you!"

"Jaune–"

"Pyrrha!" the blond said sternly, cutting her off, which took the redhead by surprise. "I'm used to people looking down on me. It's been that way since I was a kid, and it's continued here. I meant what I said when we read that article the morning after the Dance. I don't care what people say about me, but I will not stand for people going after my team or you; especially you. I know this is going to sound macho but it's what I honestly believe: if I allow people to insult your honour, then I'm not a man. You chose to stand by me when I lied about getting into Beacon, you forgave me for not treating you like a woman when you wanted me to, and accepted to out with me. If I can't stand up for you when it matters, then how can I stand by you?"

Pyrrha felt her breath get caught in her throat. Where had this come from? The tone in Jaune's voice was serious and commanding, and the look in his eyes was resolute and unwavering. Even his body posture made him look taller than he truly was. She had never seen him like this, and it was as if the boy had faded away to reveal the man that lay beneath. Was this who Jaune always was, but was just too nervous to show? This wasn't the bravado-like confidence he had shown when they first met and used to court Weiss. This was as genuine as the cuteness he unconsciously displayed. Was she the cause of all this? She must be, given that he had said that he would defend her honour and to stand by her side. Pyrrha felt her heart begin to beat strongly when she realized the core of what he was truly saying.

No one had ever done something like this for her before. Of course, she had never dated, but nonetheless, never had a man professed that he would defend her honour, other than her father. Being a champion of Mistral, no one dared to insult her openly, and so many boys her age certainly felt emasculated by her strength. Jaune was obviously nowhere near her level of might, but here he was, standing firm that he would defend her, regardless of the personal cost. He hadn't known she was there, and without hesitation struck down the boy who had besmirched her name. It was in that moment of realization that Pyrrha recalled something that her father said many years ago.

" _Moral behavior is doing the right thing when no one else is watching, Pyrrha. If you only do the right thing when people are looking at you, then you fail to understand the deference between right and wrong. The same goes for one's principles. There are many hypocrites in the world, and those who do not uphold their principles are pathetic in this world and the next._ "

Pyrrha felt her cheeks warm, finally understanding what Jaune was talking about. He truly meant that when it came to people insulting him. The composure he showed when that Haven student insulted him, neither cowering nor exploding with anger, proved that he had risen above who he had been when Cardin had taken advantage of him. The moment that she was the target of their offense, was when he put his foot down. In that moment, Jaune transformed from a passive boy into a proud Knight right before her eyes. Countless bedtime stories of Knights and princesses began to flood her mind, and childhood dreams of meeting her prince charming, washed over her like a tidal wave. Her mother's advice then came to the forefront of her thoughts.

" _Make sure when you choose the man you want to be with, that he will treat you like a princess, and wants you for who you are, not what you are. You are a beautiful young woman, my dear, and I know you will have many boys chasing after you before long; to your father's horror. However, I know that you will make him proud by choosing the One who loves you truly. I knew it the moment I met him, and I know you will too. To give him some peace, keep in mind to not be fooled by boys for just being nice to you. See how they act when your honour is being insulted, for righteous anger is better than being nice because it stems from love._ "

Pyrrha knew why those words were ringing with such truth. It wasn't that Jaune was taking her from one pedestal and placing her atop another. It was that he cared for her so deeply, that he valued her more than himself _because_ of _who_ she was, not _what_ she was. There was a world of difference between the playful flirting Jaune had done for weeks, and what he had just done now. It spoke louder than words ever could, but bolstered by his words of passion, brought his actions to even greater heights.

'Mother knows best' the redhead thought, taking a deep breath. "You're absolutely right. Thank you, Jaune" she said, smiling warmly, and kissed him on the cheek.

Instantly, as it always did, Jaune had his breath taken away by her smile, and his stern expression melted into a more bashful one with deep gratitude. The kiss of course caused his cheeks to burn, not at all expecting it, and couldn't help but sheepishly rub the back of his head. Pyrrha was blushing as well, and giggled at his shyness, loving that his cuteness always took precedence.

"Shall we go to the forest?" she asked.

"Y-Yeah, of course" Jaune replied, picking up both their bowls of ice cream, and handed the red-haired girl hers.

Pyrrha took it graciously, as Jaune left his right arm up for a little while longer than necessary, allowing Pyrrha to take the crook of it. Jaune hadn't exactly offered his arm in an attempt to be suave, but rather a natural reaction to them leaving together. Likewise, Pyrrha had taken his arm in the same vein, something that was becoming more and more natural every time they were together. This of course drew the eyes of all who recognized them as they walked to the edge of the fairgrounds, though after what they had just gone through, they hardly cared. Pyrrha was in love with him, and Jaune was falling for her.

No matter the critics, the trails, the tribulations, the stress, and the pain, they would stand by one another.


	4. Running From Destiny

Jaune walked across the Beacon campus lost within his own thoughts, which he was doing more and more often these days. It wasn't that surprising given all that had transpired over the past few weeks, and what feelings were developing on the daily. He had spent a great deal of time thinking about what he said to Pyrrha, and what he was feeling. He liked her as a woman, and there was no denying that now. It wasn't just mere attraction, though he couldn't deny he found her incredibly attractive to the point that he was checking her out constantly. That in and of itself was a strange mixture of emotions, as it felt odd doing so after treating her like a friend for so long, along them not yet officially dating. On the other hand, he knew she had strong feelings for him, so she would be flattered if she noticed; if she hadn't already. It was that knowledge that fed his own desires to ignore the post tournament date, and just take their relationship further. Every time Pyrrha smiled it would ignite his heart, which would then demand him to embrace her. There had already been a couple of close calls, and Pyrrha never making an effort to stop his advances, was subconsciously fueling them. It felt as if at any moment the line would be crossed for good.

It was that realization which had been sending his mind into overdrive. The previous day's near kiss on the roof, and defending Pyrrha's honour at the fairgrounds, forced Jaune to take inventory of his current situation. It was certainly difficult to do, as he was rather nervous about the tournament, regardless of the sure-fire plan he had concocted, which caused him to get very little sleep last night. His thoughts were of Pyrrha and his future with her. As his feelings for her grew, the more seriously he thought about what the future would be in store for them. They were on the same team with him as captain and she as his lieutenant. There would undoubtedly be some complications with simultaneously having a personal and professional relationship, but if others had done it, so could they. Ren and Nora, though were not officially together yet, would no doubt be a model for them. Ruby and Yang were a by-product of teammates becoming more, and there were certainly others that he wasn't personally aware of. It gave Jaune encouragement that they could do this, which he definitely needed as he felt that what he and Pyrrha had was the real deal.

However, it was that realization that made the altercation with the Haven students affect him so devastatingly. He had been completely honest that people insulting him didn't bother him anymore. Coming to Beacon and meeting Pyrrha and his new friends, had given him the kick in the pants that he had been in desperate need of. He was growing stronger both as a warrior and as a man, and for the first time was determined to train and rid himself of his weaknesses. However, he had not been prepared to hear people belittle Pyrrha because of them. They had been from Mistral, and had called her a desperate whore because he wasn't some Knight in expensive shining armour. That had enraged him like nothing had before. Her honour being dragged into the dirt because of his inadequacies, might as well had been a spear driven through his gut. And what made him feel sick to his stomach was that his lying to get into Beacon hadn't been discovered yet. What would happen then? He'd be expelled immediately, but what would happen to his team? What would happen to their names? Their public images and standing in the Huntsmen community? He'd pull them down with him, and that had kept him awake the entire night, staring at the ceiling, plagued with guilt.

That guilt had forced him out of bed much earlier than he planned, skip any form of breakfast, and walk the grounds, lost in his thoughts. He felt powerless. He couldn't just bugger on because there were so many outside actors in play. There were the reporters in Mistral with connections in Vale trying to dig up his past, there was his family who had no idea he had forged his papers to get into Beacon and could easily reveal the truth, there was Huntmaster Ozpin who as far as Jaune knew believed he was legitimate, and of course there was Cardin, who was the only one who knew the truth outside of Jaune's small circle. That thought actually caused another pang of guilt as Nora, who was fiercely loyal, was the only member of his team that didn't know, and he knew he had to tell her soon. The amount of moving parts had forced the blond to physically draw up a full page of war manoeuvres, and examine it closely to see how to devise the right course of action. There were certainly a number of things that he could do, but after staring at them for several hours, he realized that half the morning was gone, and knew there were other things he needed to take care of. He knew he would have to go back to strategizing, but he would save it for that evening.

The sun had already risen around a quarter of the way into the sky, as Jaune walked past the bank of the body of water that encircled the Lecture Dome to reach the large building that lay behind it. This was the Beacon Armoury. While one needed their own weapon to enter Beacon, brought over from their primary Huntsman education, and were expected to know said weapon inside and out, students were not masters. Every Huntsman academy possessed a Master-at-Arms, a weapons and armour master smith leading a team of other smiths, to oversee all weaponry and ammunition at their respective schools. His or her job was to both forge and repair any and all weapons and armour the students of Beacon required. Furthermore, the Master-at-Arms was also a teacher that taught individuals that wished to become smiths instead of becoming Huntsmen. This meant that the armoury was constantly busy, crafting ammunition, refining Dust, and forging armour. The sounds of metal clanging could be heard around the clock, and only grew in volume as Jaune approached the armoury.

It was a rather impressive looking building, appearing to be much older than the rest of the school, both in physical age and architecture. It was one of the few original structures that remained from the former castle the academy had been turned into, and it seemed that the Huntmasters hadn't seen fit to modernize it. Above the giant wooden double-doors hung a large sign forged of wrought iron, shaped into an anvil with a smith's hammer resting with the handle pointing upward. To the right rested a pair of forging tongs, and to the left was a bullet mold. Resting at the feet of the anvil was a longsword, a shortsword, a maul, a two-headed battle axe, a spear, a mace, a bolt-action rifle, a shotgun, a revolver, and many brass cartridge cases spilled on the ground. If that didn't make it clear that here stood the armoury, then nothing else could.

Embarrassingly for Jaune, he had yet to step foot into the building. It seemed that all of his friends had at least made one trip here, leaving him to be out of the loop when they began discussing the functions of their weapons, as well as possible upgrades. Granted, he figured all he would need was a supply of whetstones and mineral oil, as Crocea Mors was just a sword. Furthermore, his armour was minimal and had held up so far, so he never really gave it much thought. Of course, it was now clear that his way of thinking had been a mistake, and he took Pyrrha's advice to heart. He may not be able to be fitted for a full suit of armour in time for the tournament, but agreed there were at least some pieces of armour he could add that would be a net positive.

Jaune wrapped his hand on one of the iron door pulls of the armoury, and with more effort than he expected, heaved it open. Instantly a blast of hot air hit him, along with the familiar smells of brimstone, oil, smoke, and the burning of wood and coal. The ringing of hammers on metal accompanied the smells, joined by random bangs, forges roaring, drilling, pieces of metal being quenched in oil, and the shouts of the many workers within the armoury. It would appear as nothing more than pure chaos to many, but for Jaune, it was incredibly nostalgic and rather peaceful. It had been a while since the last time he had been surrounded by metalworking, and it was genuinely surprised at how much he missed it. His eyes scanned the immediate part of the armoury and saw smiths and apprentices running about, tossing coal into forges, breaking open crates of raw ore and Dust, and arguing over what needed to be made that day. In the centre of the armoury was a large forge with a chimney that went all the way to the vaulted ceiling. Surrounding it were well over a dozen smaller forges, grouped by their intended purpose, as they varied in shape and size. The blond also noticed that there were several members of the armoury bringing packages to a set of stairs that led to below the building. He managed to make out the labels on some of them, several that said "brass casings", and others said "Dust", though he couldn't tell if they contained crystallized or powered. What he was certain of, was that they were on their way to the reloading stations in the lower levels of the armoury. Given that nearly all Huntsmen's arms were either primarily or secondarily firearms, centre-fire rifles, shotguns, or pistols, the academy required hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition for training, as well as for Hunts. Of course the calibre varied greatly from one Huntsmen's weapon to another, so every known calibre was cast, loaded, and stored for use. There were specialists like Ruby that would go as far as crafting their own ammunition, but most chambered their arms in readily available ammunition to avoid being caught with not having enough. Jaune guessed that the cause for all this commotion was for the Vytal Festival Tournament, where students were in need of all these materials for both training and the competition.

While he wasn't well versed in firearms, the forge nevertheless felt far more nostalgic than he thought it would be. Molten metal being poured and pounded into sword, weapons and armour being forged for all; it was almost as if he were home again. These were the better memories of home, and he knew that no matter how much time would pass or resentment he felt towards his background, there were still some things he cherished and held close. It had proved to be serving him better than he had imagined, so perhaps there were more interesting surprises left in store.

The blond's eyes finally rested on a very tall man only a dozen or so strides to his two o'clock, standing near a lathe. He was over six foot and very muscular, as his brown short sleeved shirt fit tightly against his upper body, and revealed his impressively large arms. He wore a blacksmith's leather apron, dark leather gloves that reached halfway up his forearms, and a red bandana that kept his long black hair, which was tied into a ponytail, from falling forward. He also wore a dirty pair of jeans and equally dirty leather boots, and was peering intently at a blueprint. He was rather young looking despite the grease on his face making it difficult to guess his age, though Jaune could estimate he was five to ten years his senior.

The swordsman walked over to the smith, and spoke loudly to make sure he was heard, but refrained from shouting.

"Where can I find the Master-at-Arms?"

The smith looked at him without turning his head, and eyed him slowly. Without changing his expression, it was still clear that he recognized Jaune as another first-year, and knew what he wanted.

"Master Winchester is in his office on the second floor" he replied in a gruff voice, gesturing to a stairway behind him with his right thumb. "He's already with someone right now. A real nuisance that one, so who knows when he'll be free."

"Mr. Browning! We need your help with the tempering process!" called a voice of one of the younger smiths, who appeared to be Jaune's age.

"Damn newbies can't be left alone for a second. Comin'!" the smith muttered before shouting the last word and marched briskly over to where he had been called to.

Jaune stood rooted to the floor as his blood ran cold, which was rather shocking, given the humidity of the forge. Did he just say "Winchester"? That was Cardin's last name. There was no way they were related, were they? It had to be a coincidence. However, Winchester was far from a common name. Was the Master-at-Arms his father or even his grandfather? These thoughts raced through his mind as he forced himself to walk towards the previously mentioned stairs, and with heavy steps, made his way upward to the second floor.

'Calm down' he told himself. 'The world is a big place. All this is is a big coincidence, and he just happens to have the same name as Cardin. That's all. Nothing to worry about'.

 _But what if it's not a coincidence?_ An annoying voice in his mind said.

Jaune shook his head, knowing he already had too much on his plate, and forced himself to reach the last flight of stairs to get to the office. As he drew closer, he began to hear voices, two of them in fact, having a heated argument. One he had no idea who it belonged to, though the second became more and more familiar as he neared the door at the top of the stairs. By the time he grasped the doorknob, he had already figured out who it was and breathed a small sigh of relief. He turned the knob and opened the door to reveal that the second speaker was none other than Ruby Rose.

"Look! It's not that crazy of an idea!" shouted the short Huntress-in-training, slapping both hands on the old oak desk.

"If I've told ya once, I've told ya a thousand times, girly!" an old man spat back angrily, pointing at her with an equally old chimney style tobacco pipe. He was a short elder man with dark olive skin and silver tinted white hair, tucked behind a green bandana with a headband magnifier resting on top. Like Browning, he wore a leather apron, except that his leather gloves were of an older style, and lay on the table just behind Crescent Rose, which was resting in the centre of the table in its storage configuration. The master smith's face was quite crinkled, causing his eyes to appear to be continuously squinting, though it could actually be due to the frustrating conversation he was having with Ruby. "And it's still no!"

"But all I'm asking is to increase Crescent Rose's firepower! That can't be as impossible as you're making it out to be!" reasoned the hooded girl.

"Impossible? No. Stupid and dangerous? Yes! You should be focusing on trying to load better ammunition than wanting to rechamber your weapon to a higher calibre."

Jaune correctly guessed that this was the Master-at-Arms, and was rather amused that he was having similar arguments with Ruby as she did with Weiss.

"I _am_ loading new types of cartridges, and experimenting with new Dust combinations and projectile types" Ruby countered hotly, "but there are limits with what I can do with the calibre Crescent Rose is chambered in! If we rechamber her in–"

"Rechamberin' would mean not _only_ reborin' the barrel, but alterin', if not completely replacin' the lock! And the problems start with reborin' as it would make the barrel too thin! Overheating, warping, and most likely bucklin' from the weight in her scythe configuration, are all _disastrous_ problems that ya don't want happenin'! Then we have the recoil–"

"Then just swap the barrel with one made of higher gauge steel!" cut in Ruby. "That takes care of the overheating and the warping, and the added weight will compensate for the higher recoil. Then we just strengthen the frame and upper receiver–"

"Increasin' the weight counters the recoil, obviously so. Think that statement over, hmmm" countered Winchester. "Do you really think that Crescent Rose would properly align and transform with those changes? Everythin' would have to be remade to make it all fit right! And that means _more_ weight to boot! I bet you're not even a hundred pounds soakin' wet, and ya want to increase BOTH the weight and the recoil? I still can't figure out how ya can swing this thing with those twigs ya call arms."

"I'm plenty strong! I drink milk!"

"Then ya should eat ya greens too!"

"Uh...Ruby?" asked Jaune, causing both the young markswoman and the master smith to stop arguing, and realize someone else was in the room. "Not to be rude, but is this gonna take much longer, cuz I need to talk to the Master-at-Arms."

"Jaune!" said Ruby in surprise.

"Hmmm? Ya know her, sonny?" asked the old man.

"Yes, she's my friend."

"Then YOU tell her that what she's askin' me to do is _moronic_!"

The swordsman threw his hands up defensively.

"I know next to nothing about firearms outside of hunting rifles and shotguns, so please don't drag me into this one. She argues enough with her lieutenant as it is" he deflected, though he did find it humorous that Ruby was always so happy and positive, until the topic of arms came up. Then she would argue with anyone to the death, as she held a rather impressive amount of knowledge in her head, despite her age.

"It's not moronic! I just want to give my weapon more stopping power" argued Ruby, turning back to Winchester, but the smith was not having any more of it.

"Listen here, ya bouncin' jellybean!" he sputtered leaning forward. "This here..." he tapped Crescent Rose with the lip of his pipe "is a large calibre sniper rifle. Sniper rifles are _specialist_ tools. Snipers are force multipliers and support soldiers, meant to provide recon and cover. They are _not_ infantry troops, they are _not_ armour, they are _not_ vanguard troops; they are _support_. I know this rifle inside and out, because I remember _every_ weapon I have ever worked on. I remember your ma when she was a student at this here school, and she was a magnificent markswoman, gunsmith, Huntress, _and_ sniper. She was one of the best Huntresses of her generation and she knew how to maximize her effectiveness, as well as the effectiveness of Crescent Rose. I had tons of great conversations with her, and I admired her greatly. Now..." he breathed, leaning backward. "If ya're willin' to listen to some advice, if ya badly want a sniper rifle chambered in a larger calibre, then I suggest making one from scratch. Design one around a .50 calibre or higher anti-material cartridge, and use it when ya need to. Crescent Rose is a good arm. Treat her well and she'll treat you well."

Ruby remained quiet for a moment, contemplating what the Master-at-Arms had said. She stared at Crescent Rose, her eyes scanning it carefully, before letting out a sigh of defeat.

"OK..." she said half-whining, picking up her weapon and attaching it to her back. She turned around and was about to sulk out of the office, when Winchester grabbed her hood, causing her to choke.

"Just a minute" he snipped grouchily, leaning behind his desk and pulled up a rectangular package around two feet long and seven inches high, and dropped it gently before him. "Here are your reloading components. I'll see ya when ya need more" he said more softly.

Ruby looked at the smith, then to the package, and back to the smith, before giving him an apologetic look.

"Thank you" she said quietly, taking the components with both hands and bowed before turning to the door. "I'll see you later, Jaune" she added, and closed the door behind her.

Winchester sighed as he fished around in his apron for some matches.

"She's a firecracker, that one" he muttered.

"True, but she's impossible to get mad at" admitted Jaune with a smile. "She reminds me a lot of my younger sisters. Though it's weird how she's so positive and upbeat every other second of the day, and then turns right into her sister, ready to passionately argue with anyone over anything related to weapons."

"She's her ma's daughter, through and through" replied Winchester, striking a match and stoking his pipe to life, as it had gone out while quarrelling with the girl in question. "Though the passion you're referring to is entirely from her pa. How those two complete opposites got together, I ain't got a clue, but it explains why she's doin' what she's doin'."

"What do you mean?" Jaune asked, genuinely curious.

The elder smith drew from his pipe, and exhaled a plume of blue smoke out through his nose.

"Her old man was one Hell of a Huntsman. The best, many called him. Didn' matter the size of the Grimm or the number, he'd just charge in like a bat outta Hell, and crush'em all; spittin' fire with a temper that burned just as hot. He should have died dozens of times, but he just kept on fightin'. He was something alright. And then you have her ma; so kind and sweet, like spring flowers just before the turn of summer. Yet somehow, in the same woman, was a Huntress that could drop a man between his eyes at 1500 yards like it was nothin'. I couldn' believe that was the same girl that would bring me freshly baked cookies in the mornin' so she could hang round the forge and talk. What an incredible girl; what an incredible team. They were a deadly pair on the battlefield, but I never thought they'd make a good pair as sweethearts, especially after he got with their lieutenant. And then I hear years later they up and got married and had a little one. I didn't believe that either until _she_ walked into my forge.

You see what I mean, sonny? About the way that she is? Her pa was captain of that team, so there's that part of her that wants to lead. But here she is, carryin' her ma's arm and wants to use it, but still wants to charge into battle. That's not how a sniper is meant to fight. She wants it all, but she's failin' to excel at her own skills."

"I've seen her kill Grimm, and she's an excellent shot" defended Jaune, though surprised at the story the smith was sharing.

"Oh I know; I've seen her practice at the range" Winchester confirmed, taking another puff of his pipe. "I just pity her, is all. She wants to be close to her ma so she uses her rifle. I don't blame her in the slightest; I just want her to honour Summer the right way, and be the best she can be...especially since her ma passed so suddenly..." The old smith sighed and looked out the window to his right. "But now I just sound like a reminiscin' old timer. Anyways," he cleared his throat, turning back to face Jaune, "what can I do ya for, sonny?"

"I'm looking for some armour" replied the blond.

Winchester cocked an eyebrow, and rolled his pipe with his tongue to the other corner of his mouth.

"What?"

"Nothin'...I mean, I may be older than the mountains, but I can clearly see that you need armour, _badly_ " he replied, taking a short puff and allowing the smoke to escape his aged lips. "I'm just shocked you came out and said it."

Jaune just looked back at the smith, completely confused.

"Alrighty, I'll spell it out for ya, string bean!" Winchester snapped, his face turning slightly red. "Brats your age don't give a pinch of loon spit's worth a damn about armour, and only want more firepower. They got it in their thick skulls that havin' a hard hittin' weapon is what's gonna make'em Huntsmen; that they can furget armour since they can use their Aura to block attacks. That's how ya die young in this profession! Dang kids worrin' about lookin' pretty and chase tail rather than trainin'. I've lost track of how many hobbledehoys like yourself just want to be dapper for the girls, and payin' for it later. Good to see at least one of ya's have somethin' in that noggin', despite bein' greener than a bag of sprouts."

The blond smirked at the smith's grumbling.

"Well actually, it was a girl that suggested I should invest in new armour" he admitted. "My lieutenant actually; she's very knowledgeable about that sort of thing."

"Marry her" Winchester stated without hesitation.

Jaune chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Well...if things keep going the way they are..."

This made the Master-at-Arms grin, causing the bowl of his pipe to rise.

"You two goin' at it like rabbits, ain't ya?"

The swordsman blushed deeply, not expecting the old man to be so direct.

"I...well...not yet–I mean, we're together but we decided to go out after the tournament so we could focus on training" he stumbled, trying his best explain the situation. "But I think she's incredible, and I'd be lying if I said the thought of marriage and...stuff hadn't crossed my mind..."

This was unbelievably awkward for Jaune, as he hadn't even spoken to Ren about either of these subjects, and here he was being confronted by an old man on both. Winchester noticed and began to laugh at him, which came out like a five pronged wheeze.

"Well blow me down! I have to commend ya for usin' your head and not thinkin' with your pecker!" he laughed folding his arms. "There are Gods after all!" Just as Jaune was considering taking his chances and hurling himself through the window of the smith's office, Winchester cracked his neck and fished out a pair of blacksmithing pincers. "Right then, let's get to it, shall we?" he said, and rapped the embarrassed swordsman's chest plate. "That needs to go. I wouldn't even be able to make good cutlery out of that; same goes for the spaulders. Those gloves are terrible as well...that sword however..."

Winchester leaned forward to take a better look at Crocea Mors, and was instantly intrigued by it.

"Can I take a closer look at that, sonny?"

Jaune nodded and drew his sword, offering it to the Master-at-Arms with both hands. Winchester accepted the blade, and dropped down his headband magnifier to examine every detail.

"Yes siree, this is a finely crafted sword...a rather old design" he remarked, turning the blade expertly, "older than I am, if ya can believe it."

"It was my great-great-grandfather's sword" affirmed the blond. "He fought in the Great War."

"Oh most certainly" the smith said, taking particular interest in the hilt and guard of the sword. "It was definitely made in the style of that era...a very particular style...tell me, sonny, was your grandpappy a Knight in the King's Guard?"

Jaune paused for a moment, not expecting the smith to know such history.

"Yes, or so my father claims. He also said that he was so powerful that he could withstand the breath of an Elder Wyvern Grimm without so much as a scratch. That could just be a family legend though..." he admitted, realizing how childish it sounded when spoken aloud.

"I can't confirm your grandpappy's feats, but unless he stole this here sword, then I do believe he was a Knight. Fancy that. Never thought it my life I'd see surviving craftsmanship from that time in history outside of the armoury. Anyone who has anythin' from that war either puts'em in museums or puts'em over the mantel. I must say, you've taken good care of this sword, sonny. Well oiled, nice'n sharp, not a speck of rust on it. If I wasn't as good of a smith as I am, I wouldn't have guessed it was forged nearly a hundred years ago."

"Thank you. It's a priceless family heirloom and every descendent whose wielded it in battle has taken good care of it" said Jaune graciously, glad that he had at least done something well enough to be praised. He accepted Crocea Mors back and sheathed it as Winchester removed his magnifying glasses.

"Now back to your armour" said the smith. "Ya know what ya want, or do ya need my advice on that?"

"Pauldrons, gauntlets, vambraces, couters, rerebraces, greaves, and a cuirass" recited Jaune without missing a beat. "A full suit is too late for now, so just those pieces will do for the tournament. I just need to make it through the first round to get my teammates to the doubles and let them do the rest."

"You're the captain and you're not aimin' for the singles?" asked Winchester in surprise.

"I'm not the best fighter on the team" replied the blond honestly, "my lieutenant and our other teammate are both far stronger, and without question my lieutenant is best overall, so we'll be sending her to singles."

Winchester looked at him in silent approval, impressed by his humility, something else that young Huntsmen had trouble being.

"Very good, sonny. Ya sure ya don't want cuisses too?" he asked.

"That might limit my mobility more than I would like. And I really need to be mobile since I'm not exactly built like a brick shit-house. Probably later when I have time to get used to them, and then onwards to a full suit."

"Fair enough, but ya should take some poleyns" advised Winchester, pulling out a clipboard and a weathered tailor's tape from the drawers of his desk. "Ya don't want to butcher your knees at your age, or ya'll have Hell to pay when you get to mine. Alrighty, stand up straight, and I'll start takin' your measurements."

Jaune complied and made sure his back was straight for the Master-at-Arms, who with incredible speed and finesse, began to take all his dimensions.

"That about does it. Now sit here nice and quiet like; I'll be back in a jiffy" he said tucking the clipboard under his arm. "Gonna go and get the armour myself to get the blood flowin', or else I'll be crampin' all day."

And with that, the elderly Master-at-Arms exited the office, leaving Jaune to himself, along with the muffled sounds of the forge.

Not expecting to be left alone, the blond begin to occupy himself by looking around the master smith's office, and found it to be more homely that he expected it to be. The walls were genuine dark wood paneling, adorned with many smithing tools of centuries past, some appearing to be several hundred years old. There were a large number of bookshelves that reached the ceiling, filled with an impressive number of tomes. Jaune noticed that they were organized by subject, with topics ranging from metal work, to gunsmithing, to Dust refinement, to reloading, to weapon history, and even topics that he had never heard of. There were also a number of framed sketches of what must have been every past and current cartridge ever produced in Remnant. The swordsman was honestly shocked at the sheer number of cartridges and shells, and felt a new level of respect for gunsmiths, as having to retain all that information could not be easy.

As Jaune continued to scan the office, his eyes came across some photographs that rested atop a short three level bookcase. They were mostly old photographs, showing Winchester in his younger years, one of which appeared to be him as a child sitting on the knee of a man that must have been his father. It was the photo beside this one that caught Jaune's interest. It was of a slightly younger Winchester sitting on a stool before a reloading bench, probably somewhere within the forge, and grinning from ear to ear, his eyes vanishing into his wrinkles. To his right was someone that if Jaune didn't know any better, would have sworn it was Ruby Rose. She was taller than Ruby, by half a foot at least, had shoulder-length hair with the ends folded and held against her head with pins, and wore an outfit similar to hers, with many more pockets and pouches. A snow white hooded cloak was attached to her neck with a rose broach; the very same that Ruby now wore. She bore the same bright and sweet smile as her daughter, as Jaune knew she had to be Summer. It was different however, for despite it being a photograph, he felt a warmth that he could only describe as motherly; even though this was clearly taken years before Ruby was born. Jaune then noticed that between them was Crescent Rose sitting in a rifle vise, showing that Winchester had not been lying when he claimed he had worked extensively on the weapon, as well as knowing Summer personally. He couldn't suppress a smirk when he noticed the basket of cookies just behind the young woman.

"I'd say that's where Ruby gets her sweet tooth from, but now I'd say that's where she gets _everything_ from" he said to himself, though feeling a pang of pity in his heart, knowing that such a lovely woman had died so young, leaving behind two young daughters and a widower. "A firecracker, indeed" he added, acknowledging how strong Ruby was to persevere through the loss, and put her emotions into action by become a Huntress. She was a better person than he was.

"Got'em all, sonny!" shouted Winchester, kicking the door of his office open, and scaring the life out of the blond. "Let's see how well they fit!"

"S-Sure!" Jaune replied, recovering quickly and walked briskly back to the smith's desk, where Winchester had just dropped a leather duffle bag onto. He quickly removed his old armour and Crocea Mors, as the Master-at-Arm began to show him how to strap the armour onto himself. Jaune was about to protest that he knew how to attach armour, but Winchester demonstrated that these had been specifically designed so that they could be easily assembled and disassembled by the wearer. Older armour required a second person to help warriors prepare for battle, which was why Knights of old had Squires accompany them. It wasn't impossible of course, as Jaune had learned to do it himself, and had seen others do the same, but it was admittedly time-consuming.

He listened intently as Winchester explained how the armour interlocked, and he realized that with some practice, he could get in and out of the armour rather quickly, which was certainly a net positive when at any moment a Grimm attack could occur.

"So how does it fit?" the old man asked, taking a step back.

Jaune began to pace back and forth, rotating his shoulders to see how much resistance the pauldrons caused, which he was very glad to discover did very little of. The same went for the new couters, which when he flexed his arms, gave him minimal interference. He did a few knee strikes and squats as well, and found the poleyns were in line with the previous pieces of joint-armour. He brought his hands up and balled them into fists, and smiled when he felt how much of his dexterity he maintained. It was then that Jaune took a closer look at this new armour, and noticed just how nice it really was. It wasn't ornately decorated or engraved, in fact, it was just plain looking steel that could use a pit of polish, but nevertheless was clearly well made. It even appeared that all the pieces he now wore matched, as if it were from the same set.

"It fits great" he answered at last, turning to face the Master-at-Arms, who grinned when he was able to see the swordsman fully.

"Well, don't ya look a Hell of a lot better? You were made to wear armour" he praised, which actually meant more to Jaune than he was willing to express.

"Thank you. These all look like they're all part of the same suit."

Winchester nodded. "They are. I just gave ya what ya asked" he confirmed, tapping out the contents of his pipe into an ashtray and began to search for his tobacco pouch. "The rest will be waitin' for ya when the tournament is over. Not like anyone is gonna take it before then."

Jaune remained silent for a moment, as he placed his left hand flat against his new cuirass.

"This is very good armour, sir. I don't feel right taking it" he confessed.

The smith froze mid-refill, and looked at him confused.

"What are ya yappin' about? You wanna go into a big tournament like this one with shit armour? I figured ya were a bit naive, but queer wasn't on the list."

"No, I mean–" Jaune began, though he wasn't exactly sure what he was trying to say.

"That armour has been sittin' on the rack for _years_ " cut in Winchester, pointing at him with his pipe in annoyance. "I just told ya that no one wears armour these days, and then I go all the way into the bowels of this forge to get you the good stuff, and ya say it's _too_ good for ya? Maybe it is, but I'd rather that it be worn by someone like you then go to waste in storage, ya hear?"

Jaune felt rather foolish beneath the master smith's glare, but only for voicing his thoughts aloud.

"You're right. Thank you, sir" he said bowing.

"Glad to hear it" Winchester replied, as he finished refilling the bowl of his pipe, and began searching for his box of matches. Jaune picked up the matches from the desk and handed it to him, which he accepted graciously. "Will that be all, sonny?"

"Actually" said Jaune, fishing out a neatly folded piece of paper from his pocket, "would these modifications be possible?"

The Master-at-Arms tossed a used a match into the ashtray on his desk while taking a pull from his pipe, and accepted the paper. He produced a pair of half-moon glasses from his apron, and put them on as he unfolded the request. He skimmed down it quickly, before snorting in comprehension.

"In my sleep."

"Can it be done before the start of the tournament tomorrow?"

Winchester closed his eyes and began to do a mental inventory check. He exhaled some smoke out of his nose before opening his eyes again.

"I think I might be able to squeeze ya in. Will ya be here bright and early to pick them up? I ain't gonna currier it to ya" he said sternly.

"I will."

"Then off with ya, and see ya tomorrow. I have work to do, since ya ain't the only young buck comin' in for last second requests" the smith remarked, walking around his desk and returning to his seat. He opened one of the drawers and pulled out a form which Jaune correctly assumed was for smithing orders. "Nearly forgot, what's your name, sonny?"

"Jaune Arc."

"Hmmm" pondered Winchester as he scribbled down the form, before stapling the paper with the modifications Jaune had requested to it, and dropping it in his "Rush Order" box. "Right then, have a good one" he added, before opening one of the folders on his desk and began to read its contents.

Jaune looked at him for a moment, wondering if he should ask the question that had been on his mind since he learned the name of the master smith. He knew if he didn't it would eat away at his sanity, but he was also hoping that keeping quiet would be smarter in the long run. Unfortunately, in the short amount of time he spent thinking over this decision, the Master-at-Arms looked up at him with a puzzled look, clearly not expecting him to still be there.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Uhh..." began Jaune, blushing slightly out of embarrassment, "your name is Winchester, isn't it, sir?"

"Yep; Henry Colt Winchester."

The blond swallowed. "Are you by any chance related to a Cardin Winchester?"

The old man mulled over the name for a few moments before shrugging.

"Can't say that I am. Never heard of him before. Who's he?"

"No one important. Thank you again for your time, Master Winchester" Jaune said courteously with a bow, and walked to the door, closing it behind him.

The smith looked at the door curiously, admittedly lost at the boy's actions, but decided not to dwell on it. He then leaned back in his chair, and folded his right arm while holding the bowl of his pipe with his left hand.

"Arc, huh?" he puffed thoughtfully. The silver-haired smith grinned and slapped his desk enthusiastically, rising to his feet and walked to the window that overlooked the inside of the old smithy.

"Browning!" he boomed over the din of the forges below, alerting the tall black-haired smith Jaune had first encountered.

"What?"

"Get your ass up here! I got a special order I need your help with!"

"I'm still dealing with the green kids you told me to teach today!"

"Let Savage handle them! I need you _now_ , brat!" the master smith shot back hotly, before slamming the window closed.

Browning glared at the window for a few moments, before holding up a rolled up blueprint, which another smith took with a smirk on his face before walking away. The taller smith cracked his neck in annoyance before finally walking to the stairway that led to his master's office.

Just outside the forge stood Jaune, taking a deep breath, relieved that at least he hadn't just run into Cardin's grandfather. He pulled out his Scroll to take a look at the time, and nodded before putting it pack in his pocket.

"Well, that's one down. Now for the hard part" he said to himself, reluctantly beginning to walk past the pond back towards the main Beacon building. He wasn't going to like this, but he knew that it had to be done.

λΛλ

Jaune was in silent thought as he rode the elevator to the top floor of the former Donjon where Huntmaster Ozpin's office resided. He could feel his stomach in his throat, and nearly two dozen swallows hadn't help settle it. He had spent the entire morning thinking over the decision he was about to make. He hated it, truly he did, but he knew that it was the right thing to do. This was what it meant to be a leader, to make hard calls, and this would be the hardest he ever had the misfortune of making.

The doors of the elevator chimed as they opened, and after a moment of hesitation, the blond stepped out. He could see the doors of the Huntmaster's office, and blinked several times, as it felt as if the hallway had tripled in length. Taking a deep breath and exhaling through his nose, he began the long march. However, now that he was in sight of his destination, his thoughts became impossible to focus. They had become a cyclone of images and emotions, and Jaune was starting to think that he was going to be sick. His heart was pounding in his chest, and he clenched his fists tightly in a vain attempt to calm himself.

'This is the right thing to do. You know you've had this coming for months' he told himself, feeling the nausea building. 'You can't keep running forever.'

When he finally reached the tall double doors, he felt his feet glue themselves to the marble floor. He told himself to get a grip and knock on the door, but he was completely frozen. All he could see was Pyrrha's face, and the sound of her beautiful laugh chiming in his ears. He wanted to run to her. He wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her deeply, more than anything he ever wanted to do. But he knew that he couldn't. He had to be an adult and face his problems, rather than run from them, as he always had. He made his bed, and now he had to sleep in it.

"And what are you doing, Mr. Arc?" came a voice.

Jaune's head spun to his left and saw an unamused Deputy-Huntmistress, standing with her arms crossed.

"Professor Goodwitch..."

"I asked you a question, young man" she said sternly, walking towards him.

"I uh...wanted to speak with Huntmaster Ozpin" he explained.

"He's currently very busy with the tournament, and won't be seeing anyone."

"But it's about the tournament that I need to talk to him about."

"If it has nothing to do with withdrawing from the tournament, then it will have to wait."

"No it can't" said Jaune, louder and more desperate sounding than he wanted to. "Please Professor Goodwitch, I just need a few minutes to speak with him. I have to let him know before it starts. It's not about what's been going on with Torchwick and the White Fang" he added hurriedly, stopping the professor from interrupting, "but it is about my team, and their wellbeing means more than anything."

Glynda looked at the stressed blond with uncertainly. She was still suspicious of the boy's record, as his grades were far from satisfactory, and there were still some holes that had yet to be explained. Ozpin had assured her that everything was in order, but her suspicions were rarely wrong; though neither were his. What made her hesitate from sending him out of the building, was the sincerity in his eyes and voice. He appeared to be genuinely in distress, which gave validity to his claim that his reason for coming was important and for the sake of his team.

"Wait here a moment" she said at last, deciding to trust the Huntmaster's judgement, and entered his office, leaving Jaune outside.

The blond swordsman finally managed to unglue himself from the floor, and began to pace in front of the office, feeling his guts twist as he waited. Thankfully he didn't have to wait long, as Glynda returned in only thirty seconds, and allowed him to step inside, before leaving the office and closing the door behind her. Jaune looked before him, and saw the Huntmaster behind his desk, steady and composed as always.

"Mr. Arc" said Ozpin calmly, looking at Jaune with a patient gaze. "It has been a while since we last spoke. Ms. Goodwitch tells me that you wish to speak to me about a serious matter."

"Yes, sir" Jaune heard himself say, as he walked forward and stopped a few feet from the front of the Huntmaster's desk.

"Well, I could use a small pause from the frenzy of this festival" he stated with a small smile. "Now then, what seems to be the matter?"

Jaune swallowed. There was no going back now.

"Huntmaster Ozpin" he began, trying to be as polite as possible, "when the Vytal Festival Tournament concludes, I would like to officially withdraw from Beacon Academy."

The silver-haired Huntmaster raised his eyebrows, clearly not expecting this.

"I see" he said slowly, leaning back in his chair with his fingers interlaced. "Of all things that I expected you to request an audience for, this was certainly not among them" he admitted. "May I ask why you've come to this decision?"

The soon to be former captain cleared his throat, preparing to recite the lines he had repeated in his mind while planning this course of action.

"My short time here at Beacon has been the best time of my life. I've learned a great deal, and I will be eternally grateful for the opportunity, but I would be lying if I claimed that I was deserving of it. I've proven to be a poor student and an incompetent leader, which my team don't deserve to be subjugated to."

"That is a rather humble proclamation, Mr. Arc, however, I believe you are being far too hard on yourself" countered Ozpin softly. "Your grades, while lacking, have been steadily improving. I have personally noticed how much training your team has undergone as of late, the part you've played in dealing with our conflict with the White Fang and Roman Torchwick's gang, and many other achievements. Thanks to your leadership, your team has become the odds-on favourite to win this tournament, and many have great expectations for Team JNPR in the years to come."

"Expectations and achievements earned due to the hard work of my teammates, not I" rejected Jaune, refusing to allow himself to succumb to the praise. It was time to finally speak the truth. "Pyrrha earned her place at this academy, as did Ren and Nora, but not me. I...forged my primary Huntsman transcript. I never attended Signal Academy or any primary Huntsman institution. I've stolen my place at this school from someone who truly deserved it. I want to correct my mistake."

Ozpin studied the blond carefully, peering over his shaded spectacles.

"By admitted this, Mr. Arc, you have given me the need to fulfill my duty as Huntmaster and expel you immediately" he said steadily.

"I know, sir. I just ask you that you give me till the end of the tournament" bargained Jaune. "I believe that my team can win, and I want that victory to be my goodbye to them for the time being."

"Except for the fact that with you enrolling into this academy with forged documents, de facto meaning that you have illegally entered this tournament, thus invalidating any victories your team achieves" Ozpin pointed out, though maintaining his calm and steady tone.

"I..." Jaune began, knowing that if he couldn't convince Ozpin to go along with his plan, everything would fall apart. "I'm fully aware of that, but I'm begging for you to delay my expulsion for a little while longer."

The Huntmaster paused yet again, examining the blond, noticing his steadily increasing desperation.

"So the entirety of your plan, Mr. Arc, relies on whether or not I choose to accept your demands" he mused, as if able to read Jaune's mind. "As I said previously, I am the Huntmaster of this academy, thus I hold the power to have you removed or allow you to stay. Since that is the case, why don't we delve a little deeper into your plan, shall we?" Ozpin reached for an antique tea pot that sat on a small Dust powered burner, and poured two cups of tea, placing one cup in a saucer to the other side of his desk. "Please, have a seat."

Jaune looked at the cup with uncertainty, trying to understand the game the professor was playing. There wasn't an ounce of maliciousness or mockery in his voice, so perhaps he genuinely wanted to know why he was asking to quit Beacon. He slowly seated himself on one of the chairs placed in front of Ozpin's desk, but didn't take the tea. He then noticed a stuffed Great Horned Owl perched on a wooden stand to his left. It was a rather large bird, and he wondered why the Huntmaster would have such a thing.

"Now then" began Ozpin, gently blowing on his tea, "let us go over this plan of yours step by step. You want to be honest by admitting to me that you forged your transcript, which would mean you will be expelled, but you wish for me to withhold that expulsion until after the conclusion of the tournament." He took a sip of his tea and placed the cup back onto its saucer before speaking again. "Why not remain quiet on the matter? I wasn't aware that your transcript was forged."

"Because it was going to be discovered sooner or later" rationalized the blond, trying to argue his case. "I had already let it slip to Cardin when I was talking to Pyrrha, and–"

"So Miss Nikos is already aware of your secret" Ozpin cut in politely, taking another sip of his tea.

"Well...yeah."

"And how did she take the news?"

"Not well at first...but she seems to have forgiven me" Jaune admitted.

"And what of the rest of your team?"

"I've told Ren and he didn't act like it was a big deal minus the initial shock, and I haven't told Nora yet."

"Then why, Mr. Arc, are we having this conversation?" asked Ozpin politely. "If your team is not offended by the truth and I didn't know it, then a better course of action would be for you to simply continue to improve on your grades and complete your education as a Huntsman."

"But it's not about me!" argued Jaune, leaning forward, holding his hands up. "Journalists have been trying to dig into my past because Pyrrha and I are..." He immediately looked down, as what he was about to say was rather embarrassing, given he was going to say it to his Huntmaster. "...involved."

"I am very much aware" said Ozpin with a nod, holding up a paper copy of the Albion Free Beacon, the capital's major newspaper, with the same photo of Jaune and Pyrrha dancing on the front page titled "Who is Jaune Arc?". "I have received no less than several dozen requests from a number of publications across Remnant for information regarding who you are. They are acutely fixated on knowing more about you."

"Exactly! If they find out that I cheated my way into Beacon, they'll drag her name through the mud. And not just her, but Ren and Nora too. I'd never forgive myself if that happens."

At this point, Jaune was no longer trying to appear measured with overly professional language. His fear was now clearly on display, and the Huntmaster acquired the final piece to the puzzle he had been solving since Jaune stepped into his office.

"Mr. Arc..." he began, placing his cup and saucer onto his desk and leaned back into his chair, fingers interlaced and resting in his lap. "Your heart is in the right place. However, you are nevertheless misguided. I take it that you haven't spoken to your team about what you were planning to do today." Jaune nodded, but was halted from speaking by Ozpin asking another question. "How do you think they will take the news that you are leaving them behind?"

"But I'm not!" the blond defended. "I want to do this properly by reenlisting, so that no one can question my record and mock my team for it. If you can allow me that, then I can protect my friends and be a normal student here without stealing the valour of a better qualified one."

"You care deeply about your teammates, and you clearly care even more so for Miss Nikos. No one would fault you for that. However, not communicating these feelings with your team, is not how a leader is supposed to act. Placing that aside, they are not merely teammates, they are your friends; and in the case of Miss Nikos, apparently more. You have gone behind their backs to confess your crimes, crimes that your team have already forgiven you for, and would stand by you through the possible naysayers."

"But..."

"Do you expect them to remain your friends after you depart from this academy? Do you honestly expect for Miss Nikos to maintain her respect for you, and continue to date you after hiding today's actions, and learning that you are effectively running away at the end of the tournament?"

Jaune slumped in his chair, taking each salvo of criticism from Ozpin like a castle wall being wailed on by trebuchets. The reality of course was that Jaune was not a castle, and his defenses could not withstand the silver-haired professor's dismantling, the shame he had fought to suppress now washing over him.

"I just...I'm just tired of lying to them...all of them; Team RWBY as well" he said at last, nothing being hidden. "I never thought I'd survive this long here, and I never guessed that I would make such good friends so fast. And Pyrrha..." he ran his fingers through his hair "I don't deserve her; I don't deserve any of this. I've done nothing but think about all what's happened since the Dance, and I just feel that I've stolen it. I thought I could just carry on, take the hits and keep walking forward, but then students from Mistral started insulting Pyrrha, saying she was desperate to go out with someone like me. That I can't stand. I don't care what people say about me, but going after my team, and insulting her, that's not..."

Ozpin watched the boy in silence, waiting patiently for a moment to cut in.

"Trust me when I say, Mr. Arc, that I understand what you doing. As I said, your heart is in the right place; however, you are preparing to throw yourself upon your own sword when there is no reason to. Your teammates have clearly displayed great loyalty to you, not caring of your past actions, and appear more than willing to remain mum on the matter. Miss Nikos apparently is more than willing to go above and beyond for you. Of course, you would have known better than I, if you had spoken to her on the subject, which you clearly have not, as you chose to plan all of this in secret. Again, I understand why. Your feelings for her have grown more than you thought they would, and you are trying to act before you lose the strength to resist. Though with that being said, some would deem what you are attempting to do unwise. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, as they say."

He ended that final sentence with a smirk, which succeeded in make Jaune look up at him with a little less dread, and helped lift the tension in the air.

"Take my advice" continued the silver-haired Huntsman, "keeping secrets like these from your friends, or even your partner, will only bring distrust and pain. I think you should first tell Miss Valkyrie the truth, and then, when you feel it is right, tell Team RWBY as well. I think they will be far more understanding than you expect, and have thicker skin."

Jaune stared at the Huntmaster completely baffled, trying to understand what was going on. Was Ozpin implying that he was going to let this slide?

"I take it by your expression you have many questions" commented the Huntmaster. "I can answer the first, as it was the initially suggested terms; no, I will not accept your request to withdraw from my academy, nor will I expel you. Instead, you will complete your education, and graduate as a Huntsman in five years time. How about that for a plan, Mr. Arc?"

Jaune sat there with his mouth agape, and at a complete loss for words. Of all the possible outcomes he thought could happen by revealing the truth to Professor Ozpin, this was not even in the realm of possibility. He closed his mouth, and instantly realized just how dry it was, causing him to finally reach out for his cup of tea. Ozpin watched him take a mouthful with an amused smile, and waited patiently for the blond to compose himself.

"Why?" the swordsman finally said, unable to think of a better question to ask.

"Why am I allowing you to remain at Beacon? A good question. You broke the rules, therefore you should be punished accordingly. Tell me Mr. Arc, do you know how many applicants this academy receives every year?" he asked. The blond shrugged, allowing the Huntmaster to continue. "Not enough. We live in a world where monsters roam, and more than ever we need warriors to defend us from them. We have our royal militaries, but it is the trained Huntsmen that can make full use of the tools the Gods have given us to fight the dark legions of Grimm. Only we stand between the shadows cloaking our Kingdoms in darkness, and the continued survival of Men and Faunus. There are only four Huntsmen academies in Remnant, with one or two accompanying primary academies for each. And despite that small number, the amount of applicants, let alone the number of graduates, is embarrassingly low. Our standards are high, there can be no denying of that, but the number of young men and women who are willing to take up the cause, to heed the call of the Hunt, brings about a strong sense of desperation. We are in an unprecedented era of peace and prosperity, so there is no drive for the people to rush and take up arms. As my dear friend James has put it, 'Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And weak men create hard times'. Nevertheless, I, nor any professor or Huntmaster, will abandon those standards to get more Huntsmen in the field."

"Then why in the fuck are you letting me stay?" cut in Jaune, immediately regretting his choice of words.

Ozpin surprisingly smiled.

"We do this not for the sake of elitism or tradition, but so that we do not have the blood of young Huntsmen who met their end prematurely on our hands. This then brings us to the question of why am I not having you escorted off the campus. The answer to that Mr. Arc, is that I would be a fool to turn away such a promising young man, when we are in dire need of dedicated individuals to fight for the right. Yes, you forged your transcript, and your lack of basic Huntsman training sets you back with a terrible handicap. However, you've chosen to persevere nonetheless. As I said, I've noticed the increase in training and overall dedication. That is not wasted effort in my eyes, and speaks far more about one's character, than an obviously forged transcript."

Jaune once again starred at his Huntmaster in mute awe, touched by the gravity of his words, before the final statement hit him with the momentum of a runaway train.

"You _knew_ my transcript was fake?!" he cried, jumping to his feet. At that moment, the stuffed owl turned its head to him and hooted in protest, not enjoying the loud noises the boy was making. This caused Jaune to recoil, not realizing that the owl was alive.

"My dear boy, if you think that you are the first individual to try and get into this school with false documents, then you are more naive than you appear. Ms. Goodwich still doesn't believe you are who say you are and I did my best to convince her otherwise" Ozpin confirmed, without losing his calm tone and gentle smile, taking another sip of his tea. "I have always been present to the initiation trials, for I must judge the first-years with my own eyes. I saw you stumble, Mr. Arc, but I also saw you stand tall when you were needed. It was there I knew that you had every right to enroll in my academy. I saw something special in you, and I am glad to see that I was not mistaken."

The blond felt his knees give out, and he collapsed back onto his seat, trying his best to make sense of what he had just learned. Ozpin had not only known that his transcript was forged, but he had chosen to allow him to enroll despite knowing the truth. All the weight that had been on his heart had suddenly been lifted, but it unfortunately made him incredibly aware of how little sleep he'd had.

"I'm a fucking fool" he gasped, wincing once again at his cursing. "I'm sorry, sir."

"Oh it's perfectly alright. Far worse things have been uttered in this room" dismissed the Huntmaster, chuckling. "Also, you're young, Mr. Arc. It is fully expected of you to make a fool of yourself. By doing so, you can learn, which is the very point of attending institutions such as these. Indeed, your plan was a very unwise one, but wisdom can only be gained from acquiring knowledge and testing it through experience. Now then, was there anything else you wished to speak to me about?" 

Jaune ran his fingers through his golden locks, trying to think with his sleep deprived brain. After a few moments, one finally materialized.

"What are we going to do about the reporters?"

"Weather the storm" Ozpin replied sipping his tea.

"But what if they find out the truth?"

"I very much doubt they will. You are a student in my academy; therefore your wellbeing and privacy are my responsibility to protect. I have rejected their requests, and I will continue to do so. If they do find the truth, they will not get it from me. But I assure you they will find nothing to sully you or your team, as I took the liberty of replacing your poorly forged transcript with a genuine forged one" reassured the Huntmaster, pouring himself another cup of tea.

Jaune's eyes widened. "Are you serious? Professor, thank y–wait! I wrote that I attended Signal! What if they check there and find out I was never a student?" he realized.

"And they will find a genuine forged record there as well" added Ozpin.

"Wha–how did you forge my documents there?"

"I called in a favour from a good friend of mine in the faculty."

"Who do you know that would go so far as risk their career by creating a fake student record?" asked Jaune in bewilderment.

"Miss Rose and Miss Xiao Long's father. He teaches at Signal" answered the Huntmaster, sipping his tea.

The blond gave a short laughed as he shook his head in disbelief.

"I don't know what to say other than thank you. But I have to comment, I had no idea you had this much experience in forgery. Had a shady past of your own, Professor?"

"I've been at this academy for nearly twenty years, including my time as a student. You become knowledgeable of such things" Ozpin explained. "Take this for example. Let's say for the sake of argument, that a student submitted a false transcript to enroll at this academy, to hide their past. Let's then say that this student decided to use their real name, not realizing that their parents were students here, therefore making it very obvious their transcript was false, despite trying to hide important details, say, their race..."

Jaune wasn't sure what the Huntmaster was getting at, before the pieces finally came together in his mind.

"You're talking about Blake!" he gasped.

Ozpin smirked. "As I said, you are not the first person to try and lie their way into this school, and you will certainly not be the last."

The blond puffed his cheeks as he exhaled, unaware of how deep this rabbit hole went.

"I knew she must have lied about being Human, but a complete false paper trail? Well, that does make sense. I take it you also made genuine fake transcripts for her?"

"Indeed."

"Did she really not know her parents went to Beacon?"

"Apparently so, which means she is not aware we were classmates and good friends" guessed Ozpin, taking another sip. "We've grown apart over the years given our life choices, but we have always been a mere phone call away. I suppose I should give them a call when the festival concludes and invite them back to the academy. I do miss Mrs. Belladonna's cooking. She makes a lovely spicy tuna casserole."

Jaune laughed again. "Yeah, Blake loves her fish, so I guess her folks would too. Would you have guessed who she was if she had used a fake name?"

"I knew who she was the moment I laid eyes on her. She is the spitting image of her parents, just as Miss Rose and Miss Xiao Long are of theirs. She has her mother's beauty and her father's..."

"Doom and gloom expression?"

Ozpin chuckled. "Well, a mutual friend of mine and the Belladonnas would certainly have put it in much harsher terms, but yes."

Jaune chuckled as well, and hung his head with a sigh.

"I dare say you look exhausted" commented the silver-haired man.

"I didn't sleep a wink."

"You should remedy that before the tournament."

"Yeah. I think I'll have a shower, eat some pancakes if Ren made any, then I'll hit the hay. Thank you again, Professor, for everything. I won't waste this opportunity, I swear to the Gods I won't" Jaune pronounced clearly, rising to his feet, and holding up his tea cup.

"No, I don't believe you will" the Huntmaster acknowledged, joining the blond and clinked his cup with his. Jaune drained his cup and placed it back onto its saucer before giving his secret saviour a curt bow, and headed for the double doors. He reached for the doorknob but paused, knowing there was one final thing he needed to ask.

"Professor?" he began, turning to face Ozpin who was still standing behind his desk. "You said that you saw something special in me. What was that exactly?"

The Huntmaster smiled, knowing that question would come.

"I saw a spark" he replied.

Jaune blinked. "A spark? That's it?"

"A spark is a start, and if you feed it with the right fuel, a fire will burn" Ozpin rationalized. "Though if you would like something a tad deeper philosophically, Huntmaster Tanngnjóstr, my predecessor," he gestured to a large portrait that hung between the large bookshelves to his right, which was that of an elder sheep Faunus with a long grey beard and wide double curled horns, "was fond of saying 'A person often meets their destiny on the road they take to avoid it'. It was clear from when I first met you, you were running from your past, trying to find something better. I now agree with my predecessor, seeing destiny being more literal than metaphorical. I believe you were meant to come here, Mr. Arc, and I am glad to help you on your way."

Jaune's back instinctively straightened from the profoundness of the Huntmaster's words, and gave him a deep bow.

"In hoc signo vinces" he said, before finally turning for the door.

"One last thing, Mr. Arc" interrupted Ozpin. "I have one condition regarding you staying at this school: you must win the tournament or else I will expel the entirety of Team JNPR."

Jaune whipped around in wide-eyed confusion, as he was sure that things had been finally settled.

"Wh–Wha..." he began, only causing the silver-haired man to smile.

"I have a very good relationship with my fellow Huntmasters" he explained, his smile now revealing a hint of mischievousness. "However, I will not stand a loss on home soil. I hope that plan of yours for winning the tournament is sounder then the one we just discussed."

The blond paused for a moment, slowly understanding that his Huntmaster was only kidding. He breathed a sigh of relief, and bowing again.

"We will do our best, sir. I swear on my honour I will."

With that, he finally opened the door of the office, and left, closing it behind him.

"In this sign thou shalt conquer. I'm sure you will, young Squire" Ozpin translated with a smile, and at last returned to his chair. Just as he did however, his office phone rang, which he answered as he brought his cup to his lips. "Yes, Glynda?"

" _The Crow is nearing the castle_ " she said.

He smirked. "Such wonderful timing as always. Please let James know, if you would."

" _Right away._ "

Ozpin leaned back in his chair and stared into the amber liquid.

"How long will that road be, I wonder?" he said to himself. The owl examined him without making a sound, making itself clear with its intelligent eyes that it understood was Ozpin was feeling. Ozpin noticed and smirked. "Only time will tell, hmm?"

The raptor hooted twice in agreement, causing the Huntmaster to drink his tea, delving into his thoughts.

λΛλ

Jaune stepped out of the CCT Tower, and took a deep breath. In the strangest stroke of luck, his fears and concerns had been completely wiped away. As hindsight was 20/20, he could now see just how foolish he had been in thinking he could forge his transcript without anyone realizing, and even more foolish in thinking his plan to withdraw was in any way sound. He had completely succumbed to his fear, and made a series of terrible decisions that fully showed just how green he was as a leader. Some important lessons had been learned today, and he knew he couldn't afford to make those mistakes ever again.

Despite feeling significantly less encumbered by his consternations, there was still a portion of guilt that remained in his heart. Ozpin had been right. He had gone behind his friends' backs, which might as well have been a spit in the face, given what had happened between them over the past few months. He felt as if he needed to make up for it, but decided to follow the Huntmaster's advice and be quiet on the true reason for trying to absolve himself of his sins.

"A carton of frozen strawberry yogurt for Pyrrha, a generous portion of pancake ingredients for Nora, and some green tea for Ren. That should be a good start" he said to himself, and was about to walk towards the Beacon grocery store, when a voice from behind caused him to halt.

"Jaune Arc!"

The blond turned and saw that the voice had come from a young woman in her mid thirties, dressed in a woman's suit, and held a device in her hands.

"Yes?"

"Jennifer Smith from VNN, I'd like to ask you a few questions regarding your relationship with Pyrrha Nikos" she said, holding up her device, which Jaune now figured was a recorder of some kind.

He eyed the reporter with disdain, but calmly squared himself with her, his hands resting on his sword belt.

"No comment" he said flatly.

"Where did you train before coming to Beacon?"

"No comment."

"How did you and Pyrrha Nikos become invol–"

"Ms. Smith, is it?" cut in Jaune, no longer willing to entertain this reporter any further. "I am captain of Team JNPR, therefore, the wellbeing and privacy of my teammates are my responsibility, as well as to lead and protect them. Furthermore, I have no right in sharing _anything_ they share with me in confidence. You will get not an iota of information from me. If you take issue with that, take it up with the Huntmaster."

With that, the young Knight-in-training walked away from the reporter, feeling rather pleased with himself.

'Now then' he thought, 'two down, one to go.'

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his Scroll, making note of the time as he did. He tapped open his contacts, and swiped down to the entry marked as "Home". He stared at it momentarily, not exactly looking forward to speaking to his family after avoiding them for so long. He had hastily messaged them that he would be staying at Beacon during the Winter and Spring holidays, thus extending his avoidance of confronting them. And with journalists wanting to know about his relationship with Pyrrha, word must have in some form reached home, which consequently made him even more reluctant to contact his family. Nonetheless, he had made a promise to Pyrrha he would call home. He was a man of his word, and he would follow through. He tapped the call command and brought the Scroll to his ear. No more running.

After the second tone, the line connected.

" _Hello?_ " came a small voice.

"Aline? It's me, Jaune."

" _Big brother!_ _I missed you! How are you?_ "

Jaune couldn't help smiling at his adorable little sister's enthusiasm.

"I missed you too. I'm doing alright; how about you?"

" _I'm good. How's Hunting school?_ "

"It's going well. How's school going for you?"

" _Booooring!_ " Aline moaned, causing Jaune to laugh.

"Hey, is mom there? I need to talk to her."

" _Yeah! One sec_ " she replied quickly. The elder blond could then rear the sound of bare feet slapping against polished wood floors, as she no doubt was sprinting to the other side of the house. After a few moments, he heard the phone being pasted on.

" _Jaune?_ " a woman's voice came through the Scroll.

"...Hi, mom."

" _Sweetie! It's been so long since you last called! Is everything OK?_ "

"Yeah, everything's fine; it's just been busy. Listen" he said, wanting to get the point, "have people been calling the house? Trying to get information about us?"

" _N-No why?_ "

"Have you seen the papers for the past few weeks? Regarding me and Pyrrha Nikos?"

" _Oh, yes, that. I've seen those articles, but I never gave them much thought. I figured that–_ "

"It's true" cut in Jaune, his pride raising its head like a lion woken from its sleep. "Pyrrha and I are dating."

The call went uncomfortably quiet for a moment. "... _Oh..._ "

If the silence wasn't terrible enough, the tone of his mother's voice made his guts twist in wroth. That one word laced with shock, felt like a dagger being jabbed straight into his ribs; that it was too much of stretch to imagine that he could be with Pyrrha. That wasn't something he could disagree with, but he knew coming from his mother's point of view, it was the idea of him dating _anyone_ that was unbelievable. Clearly the conversation was going as poorly as he assumed it would, so Jaune decided to end it by telling his mother what she needed to know, even if she had trouble believing it.

"Listen, if anyone calls claiming they're from some newspaper and they want to know more about us, don't tell them anything. They have no right to our personal lives, so don't even bother giving them the time of day. I've already spoken to Huntmaster Ozpin, so everything that I can take care of on my end, has been locked down. Just let the girls know and tell them to be careful; same for Bridget and Bruce. I'll call if anything else comes up."

Jaune was about to hang up, when he heard his mother speak.

" _Jaune...I'm glad you're finally becoming who we've always known you would be_ " she said sincerity. Jaune felt a large lump develop in his throat, taken completely off guard by her words. " _We'll all be watching your first match tomorrow, and everyone will be cheering you on. Good luck, sweetie._ "

The blond swallowed with great difficulty, forcefully removing the lump, and at last replying to his mother.

"Thank you. I'll try to keep in touch more often."

" _We'll always be here for you, sweetie, so call when you can. She's very pretty, by the way._ "

"Yes, she is."

" _Do you love her?_ "

The lump was returning with a vengeance, as this was the first time that anyone had asked him directly if he did. Before it reinserted itself in his throat, he swallowed and answered.

"I think I might..." he said honestly.

His mother said nothing at first, which left only the sound of Jaune's heart pounding in his ears. Then, as sweet as fresh honey, she said the words that would linger in his mind for days.

" _I look forward to meeting her._ _Goodbye, Jaune._ "

With that, the line went dead, leaving the blond with cheeks flushed and the tread of his father learning the truth at dinner. Part of him wished he could be there to see the look on his face when he was told, but the thought also made him want to run out of the house and not stop till he hit the red sands of Vacuo.

"You're a fool of an Arc" he sighed, tapping his Scroll against his forehead. "You'll be paying for all of this soon enough. Well, it's not like I don't deserve it. Light, I can't even imagine how hyper they must be getting over this."

Jaune sighed loudly once more, but managed to compose himself, for those thoughts would have to wait. He would cross that bridge, and the subsequent bridges the first would led him to, when he came to them. For now, he needed to get those groceries, as well as some sleep, so he could pick up his new armour before the opening of the tournament.

Tomorrow was going to be a lot of fun.

λΛλ

That night in the former Donjon, Huntmasters Ozpin and Ironwood, alongside Glynda, Winter, and Qrow, stood before a holoscreen displaying a freeze frame of a mysterious woman dressed in black.

"What do you think?" asked Ozpin, resting his chin in his interlaced fingers.

"Yeah that looks like her. She's definitely the one that attacked Amber" said Qrow coldly, taking out his flask and having a swig. "Lines up with every description of her I've been able to find too."

"So they're officially here" said Ironwood, pacing slowly behind them, his arms behind his back. "And if there's one, there's certainly more."

"It makes perfect sense they were behind the unification of the White Fang and Torchwick's gang" added Winter, standing to the left of Goodwitch.

"We'll share her description and composite sketch provided from Miss Rose, will all of our forces to keep an eye out for her. We'll do the same with local law enforcement. Of course they've been laying low since our raid, but they will begin to move again with the opening of the tournament" said Ironwood, already running through a number of tactics in his mind to predict the enemy's next move.

Ozpin continued to stare silently at the screen, delving deep into his mind, and like his fellow Huntmaster, trying to anticipate what the enemy was planning next. He then at once frowned deeply, and his fingers tightened, digging into his hands just above the knuckles. Glynda noticed this immediately, and looked at him with concern.

"What's wrong, Sam?" she asked, causing the others to turn their heads to the silver-haired Huntsman.

"I just had a terrifying thought" he explained in a low voice. "What if the enemy are impersonating students?"

This caused the others to instantly tense.

"I'll send over the entire tournament roster, as well as every foreign student who came to spectate" said the Deputy-Huntmistress, walking briskly out of the office to her personal computer.

"Get me the files of every soldier deployed to this mission" Ironwood said sharply to Winter, who in a flash, was on her Scroll speaking to the head of their military communications.

"You think there might also be a mole in your ranks?" asked Ozpin.

"I'm not taking any chances."

"What are you gonna do if there is? Put them before a firing squad?" asked Qrow sarcastically.

"Of course not" the General said coolly, drawing his revolves, Semper and Fidelis, and checked their chambers. "I'll shoot them myself."

Qrow snorted as he brought his flask to his lips.

'Brass tacks as always' he thought, taking a drink. 'Tomorrow's going to be a pain in the ass.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, the stage is set for the rest of the story. The road is indeed long, and the journey to reach its end begins with a single step. I hope you all have a good pair of boots.
> 
> Speaking of ending a long journey, V8 has begun. Oh Gods, it's awful ಠ_ಠ


	5. Let the Games Begins

The sun was high in the sky as hundreds of people began to pour into the Coliseum. The first day of the Vytal Festival Tournament was finally underway, and both the spectators and the combatants were on the edge of their seats. There were still thirty minutes to go before the opening ceremony, which all the students scrambling to get everything they needed in time, knew painfully well. Even if they would not be scheduled to fight today, they were nonetheless making sure they were prepared, for they knew full well they were going to be on television for the world to see.

The Coliseum, as it was called by the locals, was an arena built decades ago for the very purpose of the Vytal Tournament. Mistral already had such arenas, leaving Vale and Atlas to build their own, and with Vacuo to make due. Of course these arenas were used for events other than just the annual tournament, though they needed to give the Vytal Festival a full month to prepare. Below the Coliseum were four large locker-rooms, specifically made for Huntsmen-in-training and other participants to change and wait for their time to enter the arena. In the north locker were the Beacon students, with Teams RWBY, JNPR, CFVY, and CRDL, all waiting eagerly for the start of the tournament. Team CRDL was obviously keeping a wide birth, staying in the back corner of the waiting area, as they were not at all on good terms with the other teams. The only person missing was Jaune, who said he had to leave early in the morning to collect his new armour from the school forge, but had yet to return. Pyrrha had texted him several times, which he did reply to, and assured her that he would be on time. With thirty minutes to go, she was starting to get worried.

"He will be here" said Ren calmly, causing Pyrrha to look up from her Scroll.

"I know...I just wish he would tell me what's taking him so long" she said with a concerned frown.

"Think he got cold feet?" asked Yang, which earned her a glare from the redhead.

"I would be genuinely shocked" admitted Weiss, which surprised the others, as her tone was endearing, and not sarcastic. "He seemed to be far too dedicated to suddenly cower at the last minute."

"I agree, but that was rather nice of you" added Blake.

"Yeah, weird how you're being nicer to him after he stopped chasing after you for Pyrrha" said Yang coyly, never letting a chance to bait her friends go to waste. Weiss merely fired back with one of her signature piercing frigid glares.

"I can see what you are implying, and that is so absurd, it is not even worth labeling it as such."

"Oh I know, I just went with that on the fly, cuz I wasn't able to workshop the pun I wanted to use" confessed the blonde. "I was gonna say 'That's not very _Weiss_ of you', which it wasn't, but it _was_ a _nice_ thing to say. See how it doesn't work properly?"

"It's all horrible" the heiress stated coldly, folding her arms. "And you of all people are in no position to condemn me on my past indifference to Jaune. I wasn't interested in him, I knew Pyrrha was, and I'm interested in Neptune. That is the end of it. _You_ on the other hand, specifically tease him."

"He makes it too easy" Yang smirked, "but I'll give him credit for finally firing back. It's gonna get real fun."

"I'll stop going easy on you then" came a voice from behind. The others turned to see Jaune, not wearing his armour and gloves, and carrying a large pack on his back.

"Jaune!" cheered Nora, throwing her arms in the air.

"Where have you bee–" began Ruby, but started to laugh when she noticed the Pumpkin Pete logo on his hoodie. "That's what's been under your armour all this time?"

"Nice" added Yang with a smirk.

"I think it's cute" defended Pyrrha.

"Oh, you're his girlfriend; your opinion doesn't count" Yang said, shooing the redhead away with her left hand.

"Actually, her opinion matters the most" commented Jaune, causing Pyrrha to blush, not only from him openly saying how much he valued her thoughts, but also not contesting that she was his girlfriend. "Anyways, I think this old thing has worn out its welcome, given the new armour."

"You got it in time? Were there any problems?" asked Ren.

"Yeah, I got it all, and it turned out great...I think. You'll all tell me after I put it on" he replied. "And no, there weren't any issues. I'll explain why I was late later. I'll be right back." 

"Do you need any help?" asked Pyrrha as the blond swordsman headed to the men's changing room.

"Thanks but I'll be fine. You just sit there and wait to laugh with everyone if the modifications I requested don't look as good as I think they do" he assured before disappearing into the locker-room.

"Jeez" commented Yang as she folded her arms. "You can't keep your hands off of him for a second, can ya?"

Pyrrha's cheeks instantly flushed from the blonde woman's comment.

"Th-That's not why I was offering! Full armour is difficult to equip without help!" she defended, which was of course true. "And it does not require removing clothes, you pervert."

Yang didn't reply, but merely laughed to herself, very much pleased with the reaction she got.

"That didn't seem like an entirely inappropriate question" reasoned Coco.

"Yang gets a kick out of teasing us all" explained Blake.

"It's very fun" added Nora with a grin.

"Oh I don't doubt it" smirked the well dressed upperclassman. "Been having fun, Nikos?"

Pyrrha's blush deepened, unable to find the words to express how uncomfortable she was from being asked such personal questions.

"If she won't share with me, she won't share with you" sighed Nora. "We'll just have to wait for her to open up."

The Mistralese champion starred down at her boots, doing her best to calm herself.

'They're your friends, they're just teasing you because they care' she told herself, though she was once again wishing that she could have at least enjoyed the pleasure of making out with Jaune. That way she could weather the storm of playful ribbing with greater ease. Unfortunately, that didn't look like it was going to happen until after the tournament, so she instead prayed for help.

As if her prayers were heard, the distinct sound of armour came into earshot, causing the others to look at the entrance of the men's locker-room, as Jaune finally emerged.

The blond was armoured in pieces of well crafted steel, painted a brilliant white that was rather eye-catching. The cuirass, plackart, pauldrons, rerebraces, couters, vambraces, gauntlets, poleyns, and greaves, were all trimmed with gold, which not only accented the white well, but Jaune's own golden locks and blue eyes. Jaune had been telling the truth about his hoodie, which was now replaced with a jet-black gambeson, though it stopped at the waist. His sword belt had also been replaced with one made of better quality leather, with a golden belt buckle made in the shape of a lion's head, and the tail of the belt looped and knotted in a traditional manner. At last, his shoes had been replaced with proper leather boots, allowing his greaves to rest correctly on top of his foot, and were a good palette to build future sabatons onto. 

However, what caught the eye of all present was the large sigil on the cuirass and plackart. Part of the sigil was immediately identified as the same painted onto Jaune's shield: the golden double crescents. It was the rest of the sigil that sat below the crescents, which was far more elaborate, that caught everyone's eye. Just beneath them was an armoured Knight wielding a lance while on horseback, with the stallion rearing on its hind legs. Below the Knight was a helm, a Barbuta with a closed visor and an axe cut into the visible left cheek, as it was facing leftward, and a metal wreath crown on its brow. A mantling of red maple leaves rested beneath the helm, and was draping over a shield in the centre of the chest armour. It was a heater shield, very much like the one Jaune carried, though instead of two arcs, it bore the Arms of the Kingdom of Vale; a pair of axes encircled by a laurel wreath. Encompassing the shield was a red and gold ribbon with the words " _Desiderantes Meliorem Regnum_ ", which none of them understood what it meant, or even what language it was. On either side of the heater shield were two animals. One was a golden lion standing on its hind legs in side profile, one paw resting on the left point of the shield and the other above the centre point. It was looking into the eyes of the other creature, a white stallion with golden mane and tail, mimicking the lion's pose and pressing its hoof against the lion's outstretched paw. Beneath them was a red and gold ribbon with the words " _Ad Rex, Ad Regnum, Ad Fastus_ ", two words per segment of the ribbon. Finally, at the base of this intricate design, was a chain of flowers: yellow saffron, star thistle, and golden thistle, tying the entire sigil together. 

"So" he asked, holding his arms open, "what do you think?"

His friends were honestly a bit shocked. Jaune unfortunately appeared rather shabby in his former combat gear, causing others to see him as pitiful. Of course, unbeknownst to them, the clothes and armour he had worn were actually all the belongings that he owned, as he had to quickly leave his home to come to Beacon. All he had were the clothes on his back, his pajamas, some money, and Crocea Mors. Even his armour, which was actually training armour and not meant for combat, was hastily grabbed. He had thankfully been provided a uniform, but other than that, he didn't even have a set of casual wear, which meant that everyone mostly saw him in his poorly put together combat attire. Seeing him in his new armour however, was an entirely different story.

Jaune's new armour gave him a completely new ambience; a more put together aura that radiated confidence. And while the others saw this a transformation, Pyrrha saw it altogether differently. While training with him alone, she had begun to see the real Jaune that was beneath the timid shell. The warrior he was meant to be was being forged, and the Knight she had seen a glimpse of when he had defended her honour at the fairgrounds, was manifesting. It now was emerging at last, and stood proud for their friends and the world to see; proving once again she had been right about the boy she loved.

"You look great!~" cheered Nora, giving her captain two thumbs up.

"A significant improvement" added Ren with an approving smile.

"Definitely" agreed Blake with Weiss nodding, who paying close attention to the sigil, her eyes slowly examining it.

"But there's no hood anymore..." grumbled Ruby, being clear about her own priorities.

"Oh there is" confirmed Jaune, pulling a detachable hood from the pack he had used to carry the armour. "I'm more of a fan of capes and cloaks, but it came with the gambeson."

"Yes!" she cheered, holding her hand out, which Jaune clapped with a humorous grin on his face.

"What's with the lion motif?" asked Yang.

"Lions have always been a symbol of my family" the taller blond explained. "There's been lion art and designs around my house for as long as I can remember, and every warrior in my family weaves them in some way into their gear. And since I learned they'll all be watching the tournament when I spoke to them yesterday, if I don't go in looking like an Arc, there will certainly be Hell to pay."

"But what's with the rest? I thought the golden arcs were your family crest or something. This is _way_ more elaborate than an emblem or crest."

"That's because it isn't a mere emblem or crest" said Pyrrha at last, her eyes scanning the design with great intrigue. "It's a proper full heraldic achievement. I've seen many in Mistral at historical re-enactments; some from actual history, and others created by the re-enactors themselves to make them look more authentic. Usually the centre part, the escutcheon, contains sigils of their own called charges or devices, though here it bares the Vale Kingdom Arms. I adore their symbolism and personality, which is what inspired me to create my own."

She touched the bronze plate on her belt that bore her famous spear and shield charge, which had always been connected to Pyrrha throughout her tournament career. The others had simply assumed it was something put together by a manager for promotional purposes, and were now intrigued to learn it served a more personal purpose. Ren and Nora's interest were peaked by this revelation, and the ginger's eyes rested on the gold-trimmed magenta lotus sigil that sat in the centre of the back of Ren's green tailcoat.

"Despite some changes, it is a full achievement, complete with supporters, crest, Order, and motto. So few have true armorial achievements in the modern age, as most were lost during the transitional periods when the monarchies of Remnant were replaced by the Councils. This is really your family's achievement, Jaune?"

"Yeah, it is" he confirmed, and instinctively stood a tad straighter. "It's been flown on banners at home, appeared in family paintings, and even in books going back to the time of King Alexandre's reign. Like I said, my family is going to be watching, so I have to look the part and represent them." He gazed at her for a moment, his smile turning slightly sheepish as he cleared his throat. "So what do you think, Pyrrha? The armour overall and how I look in it, I mean."

The redhead said nothing for a moment, looking at him from head to toe.

"I told you before; I much prefer you in a suit" she replied, unveiling the bright and warm smile that Jaune couldn't get enough of. "I'm very glad you took my advice."

"And I told you before, your opinion matters the most" he answered, smiling back in relief.

They stared at one another warmly, but the moment was ruined by their biggest critic.

"Just get a _rooooom_ already!" groaned Yang, throwing her head back, causing Nora to laugh, and Blake to smirk.

The couple blushed, both mentally kicking themselves for forgetting that every time they did that in the presence of their friends, they were opening themselves up to their comments.

"They haven't already? Colour me shocked" remarked Coco.

"H-How much time do we have until the opening ceremony?" asked Jaune, quickly changing topics.

"Twenty minutes or so" replied Weiss.

"Alright, uh Nora, can I have a word with you, privately?" he asked.

The ginger blinked at her captain, unsure of the reason why he was making such a request, but complied without protest.

"Uh...sure" she said, and followed him out of the waiting room.

Coco pulled down her sunglasses and watched Jaune leave.

"He cleans up surprising well, doesn't he?" she remarked, instantly getting a glare from Pyrrha that every woman present understood, and caused the captain to raise her hands defensively. "Easy there, champ, I'm not trying to steal your man; just window shopping."

"The shop is closed" the redhead replied stonily.

Yang laughed again. "Please forgive her, Coco, she's _very_ protective of him."

"I can't blame her. Tall, blond, and blue-eyed is a deadly combination. The white armour just takes it to a new level; though some of us like them practically shirtless, right, Belladonna?"

The Cat Faunus blushed. "Wh-What?" she squeaked, not expecting to be dragged into the conversation.

"Oh don't play dumb. Everyone's aware of you and Sun, just like everyone knows about Weiss and Neptune."

"Sun's very popular with both Faunus and Human girls, so well done and good luck" added Velvet with a smile.

Blake didn't answer, allowing Yang to wrap an arm around her shoulder.

"This will be a fun tournament" she said, looking at the exit of the waiting room that led into the arena. "My friends will fight for love, the rest of you will fight for glory, and I'll be fighting for that sweet sweet prize money. I've been in desperate need of an upgrade kit for my bike for months."

"My sister, ladies and gentlemen" commented Ruby, gesturing to the older Xiao Long with her left hand. "Always keeping her priorities in order."

"If I can't ride a man, I'll ride my bike" Yang stated shamelessly, causing the others to both blush and laugh.

λΛλ

Jaune led Nora down the hall, making sure that they were alone and out of earshot. Satisfied with their location he turned to face her, clearing his throat, which echoed slightly against the bare subterranean walls.

"So what's up?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Well no, not exactly" started the blond, scratching his chin. "But there is something that I've been meaning to talk to you about. What do you think of me, Nora? As a person."

The ginger blinked again at the blond, confused by the question, but answered honestly.

"I don't get why you're asking but, I think you're a really good person. You're kind, and honest, and resourceful, and loyal. You're a great leader, and a great friend; and the way Pyrrha talks about you, a great boyfriend too."

Jaune blushed at her final piece of praise, but he focused on her calling him honest.

"What if I said I wasn't as honest as you think I am? Would you think less of me?" he asked.

Nora examined him curiously with her big turquoise eyes.

"If you mean you lied about something, it depends on what it was, right? It's nothing serious, is it?" Her tone was cautious, as she was having trouble believing that he would lie about something important. However, to pull her aside like this made her a bit worried.

"That depends on you" he replied honestly, taking a breath. "I forged my transcript to get into Beacon. I never went to a primary Huntsman academy, which is why I know so little about Aura and Dust. I've been a failure my entire life, so I wanted to strike it out on my own and try to make something of myself. It's been my greatest shame, since I feel as if I've stolen a spot from a more talented student. It's what's been driving me to do better and be better; not just to self-improve, but for Pyrrha, Ren, and you. You've been so loyal, never questioning a command, and I honestly feel so undeserving of that from you. I told Pyrrha when I couldn't accept the praise she gave me, I told Ren when we spoke privately after the Dance, and now I'm telling you, because you have every right to know, and because it's wrong to keep it from you. So, now you know. Am I still as great as you think I am?"

"Yup" she said without hesitation, which took Jaune by surprise.

"Wait, really?" he asked.

"Yup."

"It doesn't bother you at all?"

"Nope."

"Really?"

"If it doesn't bother Pyrrha and Ren, why should it bother me?" she asked with a shrug, which was a sound rationalization, all things considered.

"Well, Pyrrha walked away in shock, and only after I dealt with Cardin did she forgive me, and Ren at least looked surprised. I'm just baffled that you're taking it so well. Pyrrha's reaction made sense, though I'm still blown away she still wants to date me, so...I'm sorry, I'm just having trouble understanding why you can just accept it like it's nothing. I have to ask why."

To add to the blond's shock, Nora looked away, and began to appear a little shy.

"W-Well..." she began, pushing the tips of her index fingers together, "it would be, what's the word?, hypocritical for me to be angry with you faking your transcript since...Ren and I did it too. We're orphans so we didn't go to any school, and we had to learn about Aura and our Semblances on our own. Our weapons took a long time to build, as we had to work off what we owed the smiths. But when we began to apply to Beacon, we realized we had to provide all that paperwork. We've wanted to be Huntsmen since we were kids, and we couldn't give up after making it this far, so we lied. Do you think less us for that?"

Jaune stared at her with his mouth agape, never expecting that to be the answer she would give him. Then again, Ren had told him that he and Nora were orphaned due to a Grimm attack, so it made complete sense that they couldn't have attended a primary Hunting academy. However, he had assumed that because they were able to prove they could use Aura, had Semblances, and possessed arms, they were accepted into Beacon despite being orphans. Since all he had was Crocea Mors, he made sure to cover all his bases and claim he attended Signal, thus not needing to prove his experience with Aura. He immediately tried to process the information, but a voice emerged to the forefront of his mind.

_"My dear boy, if you think that you are the first individual to try and get into this school with falsified documents, then you are more naive than you appear."_

'You did this on purpose, didn't you, Professor?' Jaune thought, realizing that the rabbit hole went even further than he had assumed whilst talking with the Huntmaster. That registration caused him to laugh, and before Nora could ask what was so funny, he embraced her in a tight hug. "You're amazing, you know that?" he said in joyful relief.

Given that Nora was a foot shorter than her captain, her cheek was squashed against the centre of Jaune's cuirass. This didn't hurt her of course, and the tone of his voice caused her to close her eyes and smile. The comfort her words had brought him was very clear to the hammeress, and she graciously returned the hug.

"Thanks, you too" she said. "We good?"

"Yeah" laughed Jaune, pulling away. "Thanks for making me feel even more foolishly. I definitely deserve it."

"Glad I could help" the ginger replied genuinely, placing her hands on her hips with pride.

"You really think I'm a good leader?"

"Absolutely. You've gotten so much better since we first met, and with your cool new armour, you look like such a badass warrior! I'm super proud to have you as my captain" Nora praised smiling.

Jaune's cheeks burned, and he looked away, rubbing the back of his head. 

"Well, Pyrrha deserves a lot of the credit for that" he admitted.

"Sure, but so do you. We've talked a lot about you, and she's told me what she sees in you. And ya know what? I see it too."

"Really? What's that?"

Nora grinned cheekily and pressed her right index finger to her lips.

"Sorry, that's between just us girls."

The swordsman smirked at his teammate, and folded his arms, up to the task of goading her back.

"Alright then, keep your secrets. Speaking of seeing things, did you notice Ren checking you out as we left the room?" he asked saucily.

This took away Nora's grin, and replaced it with wide-eyed shock, her cheeks igniting into a bright pink.

"H-He was?" she squeaked.

"Yes" replied the blond, nodding. "Pyrrha asked me to keep an eye out for that, since she mentioned you've been trying to get his attention with that skirt. And don't start with the whole 'we're not together-together' thing cuz I knew that was bogus the moment you said it. We all know you like him, so you don't have to pretend with me of all people. Anyways, Pyrrha asked me to keep an eye on him since he'd probably be more relaxed around me when we're alone, and be willing to talk about that sort of thing. That's pretty much right, since he and I have talked about you before."

"R-Really?" she asked, her heart racing and her blush spreading. "W-What did he say about m-me?"

For a moment, Jaune actually considered telling her the truth. He was honestly surprised by her behaviour, as he had never seen this side of her before. What it did do was confirm his well-grounded suspicions that she was deeply in love with Ren. He also knew and understood Ren's feelings, making him want to, on a gut level, run back to the room where the others were, drag the quiet young man back to Nora, and get them together. However, by his own admittance, he completely understood Ren's feelings, and for now, had to restrain himself. He'd make use of this new information in time, but until then, he would be patient.

He smiled as he walked to Nora's left and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, but that's between us boys" he stated with a wink. "But I'm rooting for you two. Good luck" he added and gave her a thumbs up, before continuing down the hall back to where their friends were waiting for them.

Unfortunately for Jaune, he had just forgotten one of the most important rules of warfare: never turn your back to your enemy. Of course Nora wasn't his enemy, but by teasing her in such a vulnerable state, the ginger felt as if she had been slapped with a fish. After a few moments of being stunned, she registered what her captain had just done. While it was admittedly quite funny, her being so close to hearing what the man she loved thought of her, and then for it to be yanked away, was crossing the line. Without a moment more, she wheeled around and sprinted right at the unsuspecting young man, and jumped onto his back.

"Gahh! Nora?!" he shouted in shock.

"You jerk!" she shouted back, trying to get him into a rear naked choke.

"Hey! Let go!" Jaune tried to shake her off, but she had already locked her legs around his torso, and she was not going anywhere without significant force, which he was not willing to use. Then again, Nora was considerably stronger than he was, thus it was very much doubtful he would be successful in his attempts to remove her.

"Not till you tell me what Ren said!"

The commotion they were making was far from quiet, as their shouting was combining with the clanging of the blond's armour. This caught the attention of the others in the waiting room, who were equally curious as to why Jaune wanted to speak to Nora privately, and now was taken aback by the din.

"Is everything all–" asked Pyrrha, beginning to walk towards the doorway that led into the hall, but stopped when her captain staggered into the room hunching over with a very angry ginger on his back. "What's going on?"

"Pyrrha!" whined Nora, looking up at her friend pouting. "Jaune is being a jerk!"

"Is he now?" she asked, folding her arms and smirking at them in amusement. "Jaune, what did you do?"

"She teased me so I teased her back!" the blond defended, trying to straighten up. Once he was able to look at her, and noticed that she was obscuring the view of the others, he mouthed "It was about Ren."

The redhead's smirk grew. "I think what's fair is fair, Nora" she said, siding with Jaune.

"What?!" she shouted, tightening her grip around her captain's throat.

"She's right. You've been rather merciless the past few weeks, so it was about time you got a taste of your own medicine" added Ren, appearing beside Pyrrha. "Now stop trying to choke him."

Nora couldn't stop her cheeks from turning pink, as seeing Ren so soon after trying to learn what he thought about her as a woman, was shifting gears too suddenly for her to handle. She immediately calmed down and let go, sliding off Jaune's back, and rejoined her friends with her team.

"So what was that all about?" asked Yang, grinning at the antics of her friends.

"Nothing" mumbled Nora as she folded her arms.

"Is the ceremony about to start?" asked Jaune, straightening out his armour.

"Soon" answered Weiss, once again eyeing Jaune's achievement. "We saw some people move into the arena; bannermen for the schools and Kingdoms I believe."

"That means Huntmaster Ozpin will be speaking shortly" confirmed Pyrrha. "Is everyone ready?"

The rest of her team nodded excitedly, joined by Teams RWBY and CFVY, just as a horn blast echoed across the Coliseum, causing the crowd to roar in excitement.

"Show time" grinned Yang cracking her knuckles.

Above the arena was a private sky box with a balcony, which provided a comfortable view of the battle grounds. From the covered section of the box emerged both Ozpin and Ironwood, but the General stopped short to allow the silver-haired Huntmaster to reach a microphone placed near the railing. Resting his cane with his overlapping hands atop the handle, Ozpin began addressing the crowd.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen" he began. "My name is Samuel Ozpin, Huntmaster of Beacon Academy, and it gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to the 40th Annual Vytal Festival Tournament!"

The crowd roared once again, but quickly calmed down, allowing Ozpin to continue.

"Please, save your applause for the brave and talented young Huntsmen-in-training that will be competing in this tournament. Let us welcome them, beginning with our guests from across the sea."

He began calling the teams from Atlas, who walked from their respective corner of the Coliseum into the arena. Weiss had been correct about the bannermen, as for each corner stood two, fully armoured with spears, one bearing a flag for the Academy and the other with a flag for the Kingdom. The Atlassian banners were the Kingdom's Arms and the Academy's Arms. The former was a flat top heater shield bearing a sea anchor as a main device, with an eagle standing behind it with its wings wide open, a trident in the right talon and an ice axe in the left, and a compartment of the top of an iceberg. The latter was a polar bear and a white wolf standing on their hind legs facing one another below a White-tailed eagle, wings spread, and carrying a boar-hunting spear in its talons. Below the eagle was a blazon bearing a fully drawn golden longbow against a blue field. An arrow was notched and pointed upwards, along with two more arrows crossed behind the bow. Ozpin did the same for the teams of Mistral and Vacuo, the latter Academy Arms being a single palm tree with a Tawny Eagle perched atop it, carrying a wreath of desert flowers. At last, he set about introducing the Valian teams.

"Here we go" said Ruby, fidgeting.

"Any advice for us, champ?" asked Coco.

"Keep your head high, address the crowd when they cheer, and ignore them when they boo" she said matter-of-factly.

"Got it" registered Nora, interlacing her fingers and cracked them by pushing outward. 

Jaune took a breath, which caught the attention of his lieutenant.

"Are you alright?" she asked softly.

"Yeah, just a bit nervous" he admitted.

Pyrrha gently took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Don't be. Like we said, we are ready for this, and you have come so far. We might not even compete today, if it gives you some comfort."

Jaune shook his head. "No, that's just as bad as running away. You'll be doing the most fighting in the long run, so if I can't dig in my heels and fight, then I'm a coward. The reason I'm nervous isn't even the fighting, it's knowing that my family will be watching."

"You said they would be when you spoke to your mother" she echoed.

"Yeah..." he paused for a moment and scratched his left cheek, blushing slightly. "My mother says you're very pretty by the way, and that she's looking forward to meeting you."

Pyrrha felt her own cheeks warm.

"Tell her I said thank you, and I look forward to meeting her as well" she replied genuinely. She knew there was tension between Jaune and his family, but she could easily tell that he still wished to honour them. "You will make them proud, Jaune. You've changed from when you left home. Show them." Before he could reply, she leaned forward and kissed his left cheek. "Better?"

The swordsman's cheeks burned, but a calming warmth washed over him, and he smiled at her.

"Yeah, thanks" he replied softly, squeezing back.

"Hey! None of that lovey-dovey shit! Save it for after the ceremony" jeered Yang.

"No, give him a big wet one and let no one tell you different, Nikos" defended Coco.

"Hey, I'm trying to help. If you want to give the reporters ammunition, then go out there carrying her bridal style, and stick your tongue down her throat for good measure. Your relationship is none of their business, so don't make it."

This actually caught the couple by surprise, for it was a rare moment of empathy from the brawler blonde, and not secretly a playful jab. Jaune was about to thank her for doing so, when Ozpin's voice boomed across the arena once again.

"From Beacon Academy, Team CRDL!"

Cardin and his team walked past the others, and they glanced at Team JNPR, who gave them a look, along with Team CFVY, that said loud and clear "Keep walking", as nothing had been forgiven. For a brief moment, Jaune and Cardin locked eyes, tension rapidly mounting as they did. They hadn't spoken to one another since the incident in the Forest of Forever Fall, as the bully knew he wouldn't get anything more out of the blond. However, that brought up the lingering question of why hadn't Cardin fed information to the newspapers. Of course it would be his word against the Huntmaster's in the end, for all Jaune had to do was deny the claims, and for Ozpin to provide the officially forged transcripts. Nonetheless, Jaune didn't trust Cardin, and now that he possessed armour easily rivaling that of his former bully, he stood his ground with ire in his eyes. It appeared to be as visible as it was effective, for Team CRDL all swallowed and quickly walked through the doorway towards the arena, acknowledging just how unwelcome they were.

"You know" said Coco folding her arms, "those reporters kept asking who you were, Arc, since you aren't some famous athlete or something, when I want to know how _those_ clowns got into this place."

"Thanks" Jaune said chuckling, "I guess we'll never know."

Of course he did have some idea, given the conversation he had with Ozpin, and he almost wanted to make an inside joke to his team, but he decided against it. Perhaps after he told Team RWBY, for Blake was one of the four who enrolled into the academy using less than legitimate means.

"Team CFVY!"

"Best foot forward, people!" Coco cheered, giving Teams RWBY and JNPR a curt nod, before walking out with Velvet and the others.

"You think we'll fight today?" Ruby asked Weiss.

"Knowing our luck, most likely" she replied.

"We gotta win! Dad will be watching."

"Damn right" added Yang. "And it needs to be solid, or else he'll give us Hell."

"I see we're all in the same boat" remarked Weiss with a small smirk. Blake on the other hand said nothing.

"Team RWBY!"

"Go Team go!" the younger Xiao Long chanted, and walked confidently with her friends through the exit.

"I hope we go today too" Nora wished, rubbing her hands together.

"Time to see our hard work pay off" added Ren, smirking at his partner's never-ending eagerness. 

"It will" continued Pyrrha.

"Ad astra per aspera" said Jaune serenely. "Through adversity to the stars. Let's show'em."

The others grinned at him as Ozpin finally called them to forth.

"And last, but certainly not least, Team JNPR!"

Holding their heads high, they marched in unison through the archway, and their eyesight went white as they stood beneath the sun, before quickly becoming clear once more. They walked up the path leading towards the arena where the others stood, the cheers of a very excited crowd crashing upon them. Jaune couldn't stop himself from swallowing, as he saw just how many thousands of people were in the stands. He swore he could feel every single pair of eyes pointed right at him, riddling him as if he were a paper target. He had never been in a place filled with so many people, and it would have been enough to make his knees shake, if he hadn't grown so much in the time he spent with his friends and Pyrrha.

What did shake him slightly, were the chants that rose above the cheers.

_Pyrrha! Pyrrha! Pyrrha! Pyrrha!_

"Is it always like this?" he asked her, leaning in close so she could hear him.

"Pretty much" she replied, and smiled as she waved to the crowd.

They reached the others, and stood behind Team RWBY, who stood behind CFVY, with CDRL in front. They noticed that all the teams, foreign and domestic, were oriented in the same fashion, standing in Testudo formation with their respective bannermen on either side. Their bannermen stood with one carrying the Beacon Arms of a lighthouse sitting atop a cove emitting beams of light in all directions, and the other with the Arms of the Kingdom. To their left were the Vacuan teams, with Team SSSN leading the group, and Sun and Neptune saluting them. Of course they were aiming for Blake and Weiss specifically, who blushed at the attention. From the Atlassian side, Penny noticed Ruby as she took her place with her team, and waved excitedly to her, which Ruby eagerly returned.

Interestingly enough, there was a great deal of attention being diverted to Jaune, giving credence to his earlier nervousness. Thanks to the busy work of journalists the world over, Jaune had become an overnight celebrity in his own right. People were gossiping about him, wanting to know what his relationship with Pyrrha truly was. There had been some excitement with Team SSSN interacting with Teams RWBY and JNPR, and even more so when Neptune and Weiss were seen dancing together. This led people to speculate who else would get together, particularly which remaining members of SSSN would get with Pyrrha. Many assumed it would be Sun, which would certainly be major news for weeks, but were shocked that he went with Blake, and Pyrrha with Jaune. Both celebrities were with an unknown, which made people speculate on their identities. With Pyrrha being the more famous of the two, there were many more invested in the blond captain than with Blake.

Thankfully, this time around, people were pleasantly surprised. While nothing had been discovered about Jaune's past, Pyrrha's fans had begun to craft in their minds what kind of person he truly was; selling him far shorter than was fair. They would have been closer to their estimate if he had emerged in his older gear, but seeing him now, showed how badly they had misjudged him. The photos of him in that dress, made them think he was an unserious buffoon. And yet, here he was, standing before them in shining white armour, bright blond locks and equally bright blue eyes, pensive and even-tempered. How could he turn from jester to warrior with such ease? He hardly even looked like the same young man. But there he stood, right beside Pyrrha, and looking like they made a very good pair.

"Now before we begin with the bracket seeding, the Huntmasters will each give a small greeting to the students" explained Ozpin. "Unfortunately, the Huntmasters of Shade Academy and Haven Academy could not join us in person, so they have instead sent a video recording. Without further adieu, please welcome the Huntmaster of Shade, Teodoro Blanco."

The Vacuan students and spectators cheered as the holoscreens that hung above the arena switched from Ozpin to a man sitting behind a desk. He had shoulder length white hair with equally white goatee and eyebrows, which was a bewitching combination with his bright amber eyes. He had a number of white scars on his face that were clearly visible against his tanned skin, without getting lost in the wrinkles caused by his toothy grin. He also had a large number of facial piercings; two for each eyebrow, a nose ring through his right nostril, two through his bottom lip, a labret stud, and a pair of small die earrings. He wore an amber-orange charro coat without a scarf or shirt, revealing his incredibly toned barrel chest. It was rather difficult to judge Blanco's age, but for those who did not know him, guessed he was in his early 50s. 

"Hello Vale!" he shouted, grinning like a wild man. "Forgive me for not coming to your Kingdom in person, but Vacuo needs me here to run things smoothly. I'll be keeping an eye on the tournament and cheering on my brats inbetween what needs doing, obviously. I'm especially looking forward to Team SSSN smacking that pussycat's champion down a notch! Well, I guess she isn't his champion anymore. Doesn't matter, they'll whip you all! Show them what you got, boys! And that goes for you ladies too! Show these city brats that we Vacuans are the toughest sons of bitches around! Good luck!"

Team SSSN, along with the other Vacuan teams, raised their fists to the sky and roared, ready and willing to honour their Huntmaster and Kingdom. They were joined by their countrymen in the stands, who shared their enthusiasm, and Blanco's sentiments.

"I do apologize for the vulgarity of my fellow Huntmaster, however, I have known Teodoro for a very long time, and _that_ was him being as reserved as I have ever seen him" admitted Ozpin. "Now, please welcome the Huntmaster of Haven, Leonardo Lionheart."

The screen changed once again to reveal a middle-aged Lion Faunus, with greyish-brown hair, eyebrows, and full beard, along with a pair of slightly rounded lion ears atop his head. He wore a brown greatcoat with matching mantle and a pair of cross emblems on either side, with a white dress shirt under his coat, and a western necktie. He bore a warm smile, which caused his dark brown eyes to nearly disappear into his crow's feet.

"Hello to you all! My name is Leonardo Lionheart, if you did not know, and I would like to thank the Kingdom of Vale for hosting this year's Vytal Festival" he said graciously. "I know that my dear friend Samuel has done everything in his power to make everyone feel right at home, and James has done everything to make everyone feel safe. I do hope that my students are behaving well. Speaking of which, I feel it is necessary to address the Goliath in the room...Miss Pyrrha Nikos."

Immediately the atmosphere in the Coliseum became full of tension, as all present were unsure of what the Huntmaster was going to say next. Pyrrha stiffened next to Jaune, as she of course understood why she was being mentioned by Lionheart. He would have been her Huntmaster if she had gone to Haven, and she would have, but made the last minute decision to attend Beacon. Of course, it only appeared last minute, as it was at the last minute that she announced her decision. She had made up her mind that she wouldn't move onto her secondary education within the Kingdom of Mistral months before, and hadn't changed it since. Many wanted to know why, but the champion had only given the excuse that she wanted to see more of the world, keeping the true reason a secret. Her leaving had robbed Haven of a strong addition, thus giving rise to Pyrrha worrying over what her countryman thought on the matter.

"I admit that I am disappointed that you decided to study abroad, Miss Nikos" Lionheart confessed, sighing. "I think you would have done quite well here. But, I will not hold it against you. There is always a silver lining...and that is Beacon might finally stand a chance this year."

That final comment caused an uproar, a mixture of boos and cheers, which drowned out the Haven Huntmaster's best wishes to all the competitors.

"Well I'll be damned" said Ironwood with a grin. "Never thought he would take a shot at you like that, Sam."

Ozpin chuckled. "Don't take it personally, my fellow Valians. It is all in spirit of the game. Now, please welcome the Huntmaster of Ýdalir Academy, and General of the White Army, James Tiberius Ironwood."

Trading places, Ironwood marched to the microphone, back straight with his left hand resting on the pommel of a Lowland sword, Einherjar, which hung at his left hip from a two-point harness. The scabbard was pure white, safe for the locket and chape, which were both an icy silver. To match them was a series of silver runes running down the body of the scabbard, though none who saw them could comprehend their meaning. The hilt of Einherjar was equally eye catching, for the pommel was the head of a wolfhound, the grip, a long one coloured navy blue with a riser in the middle, and Blue Beryl gemstones set in the crossguard. One final detail lay in the middle of the crossguard; a Tiwaz t-rune, shining visibly within the gemstone it was encased in. The blade exuded authoritativeness, as well as confidence, and its master bore that confidence in the smile that rested on his face. Taking a deep breath, he began to speak to the spectators below.

"Thank you, Sam, and good afternoon everyone. It's wonderful to be back in Vale again after so long. And don't let Leo's words get to you, Miss Nikos, for I also studied at Beacon many years ago. However, I will agree with Huntmaster Ozpin that it's all in the spirit of the tournament. It's about us coming from all four corners of the world, to represent our Kingdoms, and celebrate as one. This tournament was created to remind us all of when brother fought against brother, and that we fought for things that did not matter; that there are greater evils in the world, and we must fight them together. It's that unity that makes us strong. The might of our militaries and our righteous Huntsmen are what keeps the hordes of Grimm at bay, so that we may continue to bask in the Light. We Atlassians have merged those institutions so that all who are ready and willing to defend those who cannot defend themselves, can stand side by side. That is why I brought my army here today; to provide additional protection to your Kingdom; to defend Vale. The last time there were this many White Army boots on Valian soil, was to invade her. This time, we come to defend her. If we cannot stand together against our foes, than we cannot stand at all. With that, we of the Kingdom of Atlas swear to the Gods, wherever and whenever, we shall answer the call of duty, for the Atlassian Eagle brings with her, liberty. We shall serve and protect the people of all Kingdoms, Human and Faunus alike, to the bitter end. Good luck, young Huntsmen. May you too find that conviction to march forward, regardless of the trials that stand in your way, and may the wings of liberty, never lose a feather."

The Coliseum erupted in thunderous applause, as Jaune smirked at the General.

'Spoken like a true military man' he thought.

"And we greatly appreciate your convictions, my friend" thanked Ozpin, retaking the microphone. "Now, I will not delay this tournament any further, as my fellow Huntmasters have wonderfully expressed all that needs to be said. I shall instead wish you all the best of luck, and pass the torch to my colleagues in the commentator's booth, Professor Peter Port, and Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck, and allow them to explain the rules of the tournament."

"Thank you, Ozpin!" boomed Port as the screen flashed to reveal the aforementioned teachers. "Good afternoon to everyone in this glorious arena, and to all of the wonderful people watching at home! Welcome to this year's Vytal Festival Tournament. I'm Professor Peter Port, head of Grimm Studies, and what a beautiful day for tournament, wouldn't you say, Professor?"

" _Doctor_ " he corrected in annoyance. "And yes Peter, it is a gorgeous day for young men and women to battle for the honour of their schools and Kingdoms. I am Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck, head of Historical Studies, and I am bursting with anticipation for today's bouts!"

"Then let's not delay! Allow us to break down the rules of the tournament!"

"The tournament is divided into three distinctive rounds; Teams, Doubles, and Singles. Age and school year are irrelevant! In this tournament, your only attribute being tested...is skill" explained Oobleck.

"Correct!" agreed Port. "The winners of these battles will elect two of their members to represent them in the Doubles Round, followed by the winners of that round choosing one member to advance once again. The remaining combatants will then fight their way through the final bracket in the hope of achieving victory for their Kingdom!"

"And there is another element to keep the combatants on their toes!" added Oobleck. "Unlike regular tournaments, the seeds will reset with each new round. This way, the combatants will only learn of their opponents once the entire round has completed their bouts, and our digital roulette wheel selects new combatants the day of. You must expect the unexpected when on the Hunt, and this will be a great way to test one's adaptability. Thus these upcoming fights will certainly be some spectacular spectacles on which to spectate on! I don't think anyone tuning in around the world is going to disagree with me on that!"

"But they might on the amount of time we are wasting! Let's reveal the first day tournament seeds!"

The screens flickered to display a sixteen team bracket, before focusing in to show only eight slots.

"There will be four fights today; half of the registered teams" explained Port. "The second half of the first round will be fought tomorrow at eleven am, thus concluding the Teams Round. Let's see who Lady Fortune favours today!"

Two slots in the bottom left of the screen began to pulse, as a pair of digital roulette wheels simultaneously spun on half of the holoscreens. They at last slowed to a standstill, and vanished before revealing Teams RWBY and ABRN; each letter of their team name dropping to reveal their individual portraits.

"And the first bout of the tournament will be Team RWBY of Beacon and Team ABRN of Haven!" shouted Oobleck.

"Yes!" cheered Ruby and Yang, pumping their fists in unison.

"What did I say?" smirked Weiss, waving a hand.

"I wouldn't have it any other way at this point" commented Blake folding her arms, also smirking.

"Now for the second fight!" announced Port, the next pair of slots pulsing before repeating the previous animation. "And it will be between Team JNPR of Beacon and Team BRNZ of Shade!"

"Finally!" cried Nora, jumping for joy.

"Time to test our metal, as they say" said Ren in agreement. 

"I'm just glad I got my photo with the new armour submitted in time" Jaune remarked in relief. 

"Is that why you were running late?" asked Pyrrha.

"One of several" he admitted. "That's all I'll say for now."

The redhead pursed her lips slightly, but decided to be patient.

"And the third fight will be between Team SSSN of Shade and Team NDGO of Haven!" announced Oobleck, causing Team SSSN to throw their fists in the air, shouting their approval.

"Whoa, are _all_ of us fighting today?" asked Yang.

"And the fourth and final match of the day will be..." began Port, "Team CLME (Calamine) of Haven and Team ICCE of Ýdalir!"

"Guess so" replied Blake, though she squinted at Cinder's team, Mercury in particular. Pyrrha also eyed them curiously, as she was beginning to have some thoughts she hadn't considered until now.

"And that will be the first half of the Teams Round!" declared Oobleck. "Combatants, please exit the arena so it may be prepared for the first match!"

"Fret not viewers, the tournament will start shortly, so don't go anywhere!" added Port.

"Make sure you get some refreshments before the match begins to avoid missing a moment of the action!" advised the history Professor before taking a big swig of "coffee" from his thermos.

The students began to make their way back to the locker-rooms, with the teams now scheduled to fight deciding to wait for their turn.

"You guys ready?" Nora asked Team RWBY.

"More than ever!" grinned Ruby.

"Despite not only fighting on the first day, but the very first match of the entire Vytal Festival Tournament, I believe we are" added Weiss, not shy on pointing the reality of the situation.

"We will be cheering you on" said Pyrrha honestly.

"Not to be rude, but I think we'll do that from the stands" said Jaune. "That way we can get a better look of the match."

"We'll do the same. Good luck!" chimed Coco, with her team joining in before exiting the waiting area.

"Kick butt!" encouraged Nora.

"Yes, fight with everything you got" continued Ren.

"You bet we will" grinned Yang.

With that, Team JNPR left their friends, and began to make their way above ground to the stairs that led to the stands.

"A better look of the match" echoed Pyrrha, eyeing her captain with an amused smirk. "You wouldn't happen to have an ulterior motive by suggesting that, would you?"

Jaune tilted his head to his lieutenant, displaying a smirk of his own.

"Why Pyrrha Nikos, are you suggesting that _I_ would propose that we observe our friends' match for a reason _other_ than to cheer them on, as good friends should?" he monologued in an exaggerated posh accent.

"Am I wrong?"

"No, you're spot on" he replied, returning to his natural voice, and getting a laugh out of her. "I get the 'expecting the unexpected' logic, but I also know the value of recon and intelligence. They won't hold that against us, right?"

"I doubt they would" she guessed. "They will certainly do the same after their match concludes."

"If we are going to spy on our friends" added Ren, "then I suggest we make use of the reserved seating for combatants. They're closest to the action."

"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Nora. She grabbed Ren's hand and pulled him after her, causing him to stumble, but he managed to regain his footing and vanished around the corner of the hall with the eager ginger.

Jaune couldn't help laughing at them. "I have a feeling I'll be seeing that again" he remarked.

"What do you mean?" asked Pyrrha.

"As soon as they together; she's dragging him straight to the bedroom."

"Jaune!" gasped Pyrrha, slapping his arm as she blushed, though secretly agreeing with him.

"What? If you ask me, that's probably the only way he can make it up to her for making her wait so long; if I were in Nora's shoes, I mean" he reasoned.

The redhead paused for moment, and because they were alone, said "Yes she might, but that would take a little more time. Nora is surprisingly shy when it comes to Ren."

"Yeah, I just figured that out when I spoke to her."

" _That_ explains why she tried to strangle you" Pyrrha realized. "What _did_ you tease her about specifically?"

"I didn't really" Jaune defended. "She said you and her talked about me, and what you talked about would be kept secret between you both, so I pointed out Ren was checking her out, and mentioned we'd spoken about her. When she asked to know what we talked about specifically, I said I'd keep it a secret between me and Ren. That's all."

"Ah" Pyrrha said, things finally becoming clear, and causing her to feel a bit more sympathetic to her friend's frustrations. "Well, at least she finally has some confirmation that her plan to attract him is working."

'You have no idea' the blond thought humorously. "And we'll continue to do our part. Anyways, let's get back to the others."

The couple walked the remaining stretch of the hall until they turned the corner, and climbed the stairs to the reserved seating of the Coliseum. When they were once again above ground and beneath the sun filled sky, they saw Ren and Nora sitting side by side with Team SSSN to their left, and Team CFVY to theirs.

"There you are" said Nora as they sat down. "What took you so long?"

"Finally gave him that wet one" commented Coco with a grin.

Jaune blushed slightly, but remained calm. "Is the match about to start?" he asked.

"Shortly" replied Ren.

As if on cue, the screens returned to life, showing the commentator's box once more.

"Hello everyone! Forgive the delay, but we are now ready to begin with the first match of the tournament!" said Port eagerly.

"Before we do, we would like to add some additional information regarding the tournament to the spectators, as well as a reminder to the combatants" said Oobleck, adjusting his glasses. "All Huntsmen-in-training competing will not and cannot use field munitions. All cartridges and explosives must be tournament mandated non-lethal; rubber projectiles and halved Dust loads. Any combatant caught with field loads will be immediately disqualified from the tournament, along with his or her team. We do not want any accidents today or any day of the tournament. In that vein, victory is determined by four outcomes: one, a combatant knocks their opponent unconscious. Two, a combatant knocks their opponent out of the ring, or a combatant falls out of the ring. Three, a combatant gives their opponent an injury that results in a technical knock-out. A proctor will determine if the injuries are severe enough to retire the combatant and/or end the match, along with the medical staff on standby. The fourth and final determinate is simply a team or combatant surrenders, and yields defeat. Now then, Team RWBY and Team ARBN, please enter the arena!"

From their respective corners, the teams entered the Coliseum once again to the cheers of the crowd. Team RWBY had taken Pyrrha's advice, and were saluting the audience, bolstering their cheers, which were already near deafening given Weiss' appearance. She gave the Atlassian spectators someone to support, joining in the clamour of the Valian locals. As the arena terrains were being randomized, Pyrrha turned her head to speak to Jaune.

"What do you think will be the outcome?" she asked.

"I have no idea who Team ARBN are, so I can't make a definitive call" the blond admitted, "but I'm pretty sure Team RWBY will win. Obvious bias for our friends is obvious."

Pyrrha gave him a small giggle. "Yes, I feel the same way, though I do believe them when they said they worked tirelessly on improving their coordination. Weiss especially doesn't appear to try and take command as she used to. Team ARBN were obviously my classmates at Sanctum, and while I can say they are an above average team, Team RWBY is more than capable of handling them." Jaune nodded in agreement as the arena began to transform. Pyrrha then titled her head slightly. "So strange..."

The swordsman shifted his gaze to her curiously. "What is it?"

"I have taken part in countless tournaments since I began training to be a Huntress, and have spectated even more since I was a child. And yet..." she explained with a slight frown, "I cannot comprehend how they organized this one. This three category system is baffling, is it not?"

Jaune thought for a moment. "Yeah, now that I think of it. Normally you'd have those separated into their own tournaments, rather than have them all together, wouldn't you?"

"Precisely. That becomes even more confusing, as we Huntsmen are taught and trained in teams of four; why not have us fight as a team throughout the tournament? Furthermore, not separating the teams by school year is equally baffling, for school year is a direct correlation to skill, with seniors being allowed to have field experience. I know of several seniors in Mistral that are incredibly talented, and if they were to participate in this tournament, would demolish the competition. What they should have done was have several tournaments divided by school year. That way, skill would be the true determining factor, and there would be more matches per day. And then there is this reseeding business with every round. I cannot make heads or tails of it."

Jaune sighed as he ran his tongue over his teeth.

"I can't argue with you there. Like I said, I can sort of understand the 'expecting the unexpected' thing, but yeah, it's all weird." He looked back to the arena as the match began. "But it's too late now. We've planned out our strategy with the rules they've set, so we'll do what we can with what we've got. Better we focus on what's in front of us than what's way behind."

"And what are you focusing on exactly?" Pyrrha asked, not taking her eyes off the fight.

"Two things: one, try and figure out who from Team RWBY will be sent to the Doubles and Singles rounds, and two, figure out how they fight" he replied, also without looking away.

"I doubt Ruby would be chosen for the Singles, but she could take part in the Doubles with her sister, given they know each other best" Pyrrha suggested.

The blond nodded. "Sure, but she's also the least experienced next to me" he pointed out, crossing his arms. "Then there's Blake, who seems to be used to fighting alone, so she might still be learning to fight as a team. Weiss is a strong contender though."

"Certainly" agreed the redhead. "Atlas has a strong dueling culture, very similarly to ours in Mistral. Myrtenaster being a rapier is proof of that. If I were to hazard a guess, she would be their candidate for the Singles as well as Doubles. The military culture of Atlas also explains her tactical prowess, making her a very well rounded fighter."

"Except in one category: raw power" pointed out Jaune, steadily tapping his right index finger against his left rerebrace. "I'm with you on Weiss being part of the Doubles round, but not for the Singles. Weiss is a strong warrior because she makes great use of Dust combinations and her Glyphs, maximizing her tools to their full potential with great efficiency. But she's lacking in knockdown power. So if I were to put my money where my mouth is, I'd say it will be Weiss in the Doubles with Yang, as she'll cover what Weiss lacks, and then it will be Yang in the Singles."

"Fire and Ice" Pyrrha remarked with a smirk.

"Nice and poetic. Team RWBY is probably betting on Yang's raw firepower; and given her brawler fighting style and Semblance, she would be the best choice to make it through the entire Single's bracket."

Pyrrha looked at him as she giggled. "Yes, I am sure that is what Yang said."

Jaune looked at her confused, before the realization hit him and his face soured in annoyance.

"Oh right, 'firepower', Gods..." he groaned, rolling his eyes, which caused Pyrrha to giggle again and cover her mouth. "Oh don't start making puns."

"I can appreciate them without making them" she defended, giving him a kittenish smile.

"Fine fine" the captain relented, looking back to the match thinking, 'She's so damn cute'. "But there's something to point out about Yang's fighting style and temperament: she's got a few bad habits we could exploit."

"And those would be?"

"Firstly, her defense" he began to explain. "To put in bluntly, she kinda has a tendency to block attacks with her face. She relies on her Semblance to act as a shield, constantly burning Aura in the process; which is her second bad habit. She has a lot to burn, but a fire that burns twice as bright, burns out twice as fast. If she doesn't get herself knocked out in combat, or burn herself out leading up to her fight with you, then she certainly will burn out when she does; you have way more efficient Aura management after all." 

Pyrrha looked at her captain with admiration and pride. His growth regarding swordsmanship was tremendous, but she was beyond proud with how much he had grown as a person, as well as a captain. His focus and confidence had refined to a sharp point, which now matched beautifully with his new armour. While she hadn't fallen for Jaune because of his warrior skill, she couldn't deny it was becoming a wonderful bonus. How far he would grow in time, she could only imagine.

The blond noticed her gaze and turned again to face her. "What?"

"Oh nothing" she dismissed, taking his hand. "I'll tell you later."

Jaune gave her a quizzical look, but knew that if he was keeping a couple of little secrets from her, she could keep a few of her own.

"And that's the match!" shouted Port, drawing the couple's attention back to the arena, where Team RWBY were celebrating and showing their appreciation to the crowd. Sun and Neptune were both whistling loudly, happy to see the girls they liked, along with their friends, do well out the gate. "What an explosive start to this year's tournament, wouldn't you say, Bart?"

"Indeed I would, Peter" agreed Oobleck with a grin. "This tournament is already displaying that this generation is bursting with potential. So let us keep that explosive rolling start rolling! Will Team JNPR of Beacon and Team BRNZ of Shade make their way to their respective waiting stations?"

"It's game time" said Jaune, rising to his feet.

"Finally!" Nora added eagerly, jumping up and for a moment appeared to consider jumping out of the stands to get below faster.

"Good luck, love-birds!" called Coco with a grin.

"Do your best" added Velvet.

"Can't promise that we'll cheer for ya like we did for Team RWBY" stated Sun honestly with an apologetic smirk. "You know how it is."

"We'll win whether ya do or ya don't" Jaune declared soundly, but gave the Monkey Faunus a knowing smirk.

Pyrrha and Ren gave their thanks to the others, and joined the rest of their team as they made their way back to the locker area. As they expected, they ran into Team RWBY who were coming up to the stands to watch the remaining matches.

"We won!" cheered Ruby.

"We saw" laughed Pyrrha. "You've all greatly improved."

"Scared, Nikos?" teased Yang with a cocky grin.

"Nope!" replied Nora, sticking her tongue out at the blonde.

"Let her answer for herself!"

The redhead paused for a moment and looked at her teammate's determined expression, before smirking and looked back at the elder Xiao Long.

"Nope" she said, and also stuck out her tongue. Yang merely laughed at the Mistralese champion's childish response, which Ruby joined in on, and caused Weiss and Blake to smirk.

"Regardless, best of luck to all of you" said the Schnee heiress politely.

"Thank you" replied Jaune with a nod. "We hope to join you in the Doubles."

"You better" shot back Yang. "I want that one on one, Pyrrha."

"So do I" the redhead agreed.

They waved and made their way to the lower levels of the Coliseum, and finally reached the waiting area. As they stood by, Team JNPR began making last minute checks of their equipment. Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora all made sure that their firearms cycled correctly, and their magazines were loaded with non-lethal ammunition. Jaune, being the only one without a firearm, made sure that Corcea Mors fit correctly in its scabbard, and the latter transformed correctly into heater shield configuration. When satisfied, he began to double check that his armour was well secured, especially his cuirass, as the last thing he wanted was his family achievement falling in the dirt on live television. Instinctively, his right hand resting on the Arms, and he looked down, staring at it while in thought.

Jaune then noticed that Pyrrha appeared to be doing the same, eyes closed, both her hands held together, hand over fist, and pressed against the centre of her chest.

"You OK?" he asked.

"Mhmm" she answered softly. "Just praying."

This caused Jaune to lean back slightly, and before he could stop himself said "You think we're _that_ screwed?"

Without opening her eyes, she gently slapped his chest armour with the back of her right hand.

"Of course not; I always pray before a match." She then opened her eyes to look at him and asked "Still nervous about your family watching?"

"A little" he admitted, exhaling out of his nose, "but not as much as before."

"Don't worry, Jaune. We will win today" encouraged Ren.

"I don't doubt that for a second" the captain replied. "I have complete and unwavering faith in each and every one of you. I could have never asked for better friends and troops. It's having faith in myself that I need to work on a little more."

Pyrrha took his hand once again and squeezed it, smiling warmly at him.

"And we have unwavering faith in you, Jaune. No matter the challenges, we will stand by your side. What did you say before? Ad astra per aspera?"

Jaune nodded. "Through adversity to the stars" he translated.

"It's a good motto to stand by. Let's aim for the stars, shall we?" Pyrrha then kissed him on the cheek again. "For luck."

The blond blushed, but smiled back, truly grateful for her being there for him.

"Thanks, Pyrrha, but I think you're already all the good luck I need; my good luck charm."

The redhead blushed at his words, and squeezed his hand.

"Am I really?" she asked softly.

"All I could ever need" he repeated, squeezing back and smiling.

The couple gazed at each other lovingly, the world once again beginning to melt away, leaving them in their own little paradise. And as per usual, there was someone or something to pull them back to reality.

"Now _kiiiiiiiiissss_ " teased Nora, grinning from ear to ear.

Jaune and Pyrrha jumped and became incredibly flushed, as if they had been caught in a far more perverse act. Ren looked at them in amusement. He had spoken to Jaune in private as to why the blond hadn't sealed the deal, despite things progressing far more than he had anticipated. He did his best not to let his own feelings cloud his judgement, as he wished he could be further along with Nora, thus he simply told Jaune to not drag things out for too much longer. As hypocritical as that was, he at least understood part of his friend's reasoning, so Ren left him to his own devices. However, he no longer bothered to stop Nora from teasing them, using it as his own form of playful jabbing.

"I'm sure they will when they are ready" Ren said with a small smirk.

"Will it be this century or the next one?" the ginger asked.

"I'll give them the benefit of the doubt as say _this_ century."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Ren" shot back Jaune.

"Any time."

"Speaking of good luck charms, aren't you supposed to _rub_ them?" Nora teased.

To everyone's surprise, including Ren, the stealthy Huntsman-in-training began to rub the top of Nora's head.

"Like this?" he asked.

The hammeress' face lit up like a Christmas tree, as she had never expected him to do such a thing, especially out of the blue. Her eyes dropped down to her feet, very unsure of how to act or respond. Jaune and Pyrrha looked at the black-haired young man with excited confusion, as it was a big step for him to show affection like this. Jaune especially was happy to see his friend make some sort of move on Nora, and quickly mouthed "Smooth", which gave Ren his turn to blush.

"Yes Ren, like that" laughed Pyrrha, and began to ruffle Jaune's hair.

"Well, I guess we could all use a bit of luck, whether it be rubbing good luck charms or praying. Whichever helps most" he added, getting an odd sense of enjoyment from Pyrrha playing with his hair.

"The Gods aren't gumball machines, Jaune" corrected the redhead. "I'm not praying for good luck, or for the Gods to simply _give_ me what I want by praying for it."

"Sure...so why do you pray before a fight?" he asked timidly.

"Of course I pray for guidance, but never for my hand to be held. It's for meditation and reflection, to achieve inner peace before honouring the Gods in battle. I have always been close with my faith, given how religious my family is, and when I began training to become a Huntress, I took the lessons my father taught me, and applied them. When I feel closer to the Gods, I feel that I am a better Huntress, thus a better sword to do their holy work by Hunting the Grimm. There are many other reasons of course, but in regards to combat, those are the main motivations. Does that make sense?"

Jaune thought for a moment, her words resonating with him more than he expected, though he did ultimately know why.

"It does. My family is religious as well, doing the praying before battle thing, and my dad would agree with you. Some of the things you said are what he's said to me before" he confessed, being taken back to his youth as she spoke her reasons to prayer.

Pyrrha examined him for a moment, and recognized the tone of his voice as one who had drifted away from observing.

"When was the last time you prayed?" she asked softly.

"Don't know" the blond replied sheepishly, touching the crest of the lancer with his right hand.

Jaune, like most Valians, was a Paladinist; one who believes and worships the Paladin of Light, also known as the Great Lancer. The tale goes that long ago, a Knight left for dead against a horde of Grimm, wielding only a mangled lance, prayed to the Light before making himself ready to die. In his hour of need, lightning came from the Heavens and struck his raised lance, forging it anew. Shinning with the brightness of the Sun, the Knight charged on horseback, laying waste to every Grimm; his new lance of Light never failing to hit its mark. He then rode back to his King, taking other scattered cavalrymen with him, and with great strength, rescued the besieged castle, saving Albion from Darkness.

"A few years I think. I've just felt so unlucky and useless that when I prayed for things to get better and they didn't, I stopped finding any solace in it. I did the gumball thing you mentioned."

"What prayers do your family say before battle? I'd like to hear them."

Jaune thought back to his past, and remember the many holy days he had gone to his local temple with his family.

"There's a few I can remember. Tesis sum Lux; I am a witness to the Light, was a common one. In absentia lucis, tenebrae vincunt, sicque portabunt aeternum; In the absence of light, darkness prevails, thus we shall carry the eternal fire; that was another..." Then one came to the forefront of his mind. "There's one we say all the time. It ties into the achievement of our House; In hoc signo vinces; In this sign thou shalt conquer."

"Yeah...I like the sound of that" commented Nora, who had recovered from the shock of Ren's head rub, and had been quietly listening to the conversation. "Let's go and conquer our enemies" she added, punching her right palm with her left fist.

"Will that be before or after we break their legs?" asked Pyrrha, also enjoying her friend's enthusiasm.

"I'm good either way."

"This is a tournament, not a war, Nora" Ren pointed out, but then chuckled when he only got a raspberry blown at him as a response.

"It is time for the second match!" came Professor Port's voice over the Coliseum speakers. "Will Teams JNPR and BRNZ please enter the arena?"

"It's time" said the raven-haired young man.

"Keep your heads held high, and never allow doubt to cloud them" advised Pyrrha.

"In hoc signo vinces!" shouted Nora, utterly butchering the pronunciation, and causing Jaune to laugh.

He grasped the hilt of Crocea Mors with his left hand, and struck his cuirass with his right fist.

"In hoc signo vinces!" he cried passionately, a wide toothy grin on his face; igniting the fire in their souls. With that, Team JNPR marched in unison, ready and determined to achieve glory for the Valian realm, and Beacon Academy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now the tournament begins. There will be many twists and turns, but where will they lead? Only time will tell.
> 
> Also, what in the Hell is V8 doing to Nora? Gods help us -_-


	6. For Love and For Glory

Both first-year teams entered the arena. They addressed the crowd as they had done during the opening ceremony, before stopping and standing thirty feet apart. On the tiles were two designated starting positions, and the first-years made sure to stand on them so they could face one another. They had already seen that the arena could change shape; not only to alter the terrain, but to replace any broken tiles. This was useful for an additional reason. The locker-areas of Beacon and Shade were not head to head, and since the tiles of the arena could be swapped out, there were done so to make sure the correct starting positions were in place with every new match. This helped avoid any confusion for the combatants as well as the spectators.

As they waited for the match to begin, the teams were examining each other carefully, trying their best to determine the skill sets of each opponent.

"Looks like three brawlers and a sniper" said Jaune to Pyrrha.

"Yes, I can see her rifle" she confirmed, referring to May Zedong, the only woman on Team BRNZ.

"She's going to be a problem."

"Annoying you mean" commented Nora.

"She'll be covering her teammates" guessed Ren.

"Then we need to take her out as soon as possible" advised the blond.

Pyrrha was about to suggest a plan of attack, then the screens switched to the commentator's box.

"At last we have our second match of the tournament; Team JNPR of Beacon versus Team BRNZ of Shade!" announced Port with gusto. "And I do mean 'at last', as I am sure that everyone has been waiting for this one as much as I have. Wouldn't you say so, Bart?"

"Oh absolutely, Peter! Miss Nikos always draws in large crowds, as her long record of tournament victories in both Mistral and Atlas prove many times over! So no doubt many are eager to see her do what she does best in this tournament; myself included. Furthermore, to see two of my favourite students competing is something that, as a teacher, fills me with indescribable joy."

"Yes, I understand completely! Miss Valkyrie is my favourite student, and I've been looking forward to see how she fairs as well. Interestingly, you were telling me earlier that Mr. Arc has a rather impressive knack for history."

"Indeed he does! Top of his class in fact, beating both Miss Nikos _and_ Miss Schnee!"

"I'm _still_ bitter about that final exam" muttered Weiss, folding her arms crossly, and only became more cross as Yang began to rub her head.

"There there" said the blonde.

"But will brains help in this contest of strength? Let's find out!" said Port, as the terrain random selection began.

"Thanks for trying, Doc" sighed Jaune.

"Hee hee, I'm his favourite" smiled Nora, referring to the Grimm Studies professor.

"At least you were mentioned" noted Ren, feeling as if he was suddenly turning into the third wheel, which was odd given they were in a team of four. His eyes suddenly darted to the right as he felt a hand begin to rub his head, and saw that it was none other than his entire world.

"There there" she said consolingly, eyes closed and smiling, her cheeks tinted pink. Ren felt his own warm as the environment roulette landed on two symbols: a green pine tree and a gray thunderstuck mountain.

"No time to complain, Ren" alerted Jaune reaching for the hilt of Crocea Mors. "Draw your weapons and get ready!"

The rest of Team JNPR complied and joined him, as the arena completed its transformation.

"Three...two...one" counted down Port.

"Alea iacta est (The die is cast)" Jaune said under his breath.

"BEGIN!"

"Sagitta! (Arrow!)" the blond shouted as they charged. Ren peeled off from the group after May, who was sprinting to the tree line.

Brawnz Ni, the captain of the enemy team, locked eyes with Pyrrha, and launched himself at her with a jumping knee strike. Pyrrha blocked the attack with Akoúo and was pushed back slightly, before she swung Miló in its xiphos form in an overhead stroke, aiming for Brawnz's head. He blocked the attack with the claws on his left gauntlet, and used his right gauntlet to block the edge of Akoúo when the redhead assailed with it.

Nora went for Nolan Porfirio, the boy with dark red hair, a deep sky blue jacket, and wielding what appeared to be a cattle prod, by leaping a good twenty feet in the air, and swung Magnhild at him. He dodged to the left, letting the giant hammer strike the ground with such force that it shattered at least six of the arena tiles, sending shrapnel in all directions. He then thrust his cattle prod at the ginger, who leaned backward, allowing the prod to sail past by mere inches. Nora quickly regained her footing and swung a haymaker punch, aiming for Nolan's right cheek. He quickly tucked and rolled to avoid the attack, before getting back onto his feet, as Nora used the momentum of her punch to raise her hammer and face her opponent.

Jaune engaged with Roy Stallion, a boy with gold tipped brown cornrow dreadlocks and buzzsaw gauntlets, who spun into a double strike which the blond blocked with his heater shield. Jaune quickly landed a shield bash on Roy, causing him to stumble to one knee, and allowing the swordsman to thrust Corcea Mors at the Vacuan boy's chest. Roy parried the trust with his left buzzsaw, and punched with his right, aiming for Jaune's exposed left thigh. Instinctively, the blond raised his leg, allowing the buzzsaw to strike his greave, glad that he remembered Pyrrha's advice. He then did a diagonal slash at Roy's shoulder, but his opponent rolled to the right to avoid the attack, and quickly got to his feet, firing a pair of buzzsaw blades at the blond, who blocked them with his shield.

On the forest half of the arena, May had reached the tree line, and vanished into the cover of the thick foliage. From the cover of the leaves, she quickly took aim at her pursuer, and fired right before him, leading the shot. Just before she took the shot, Ren realized that he had no chance of reaching her, and halted, causing the bullet to fly into the tile just in front of him. Ren immediately began to flip backwards, trying to put as much distance as he could between himself and the sniper as she fired upon him. Jaune instantly took notice and began to bark orders.

"Sniper! Receptum! (Fall back!)" he shouted, signalling to an outcrop at the base of the mountain half of the arena. Ren and Nora quickly got behind Jaune and Pyrrha, who used their shields to cover their retreat from the hail of sniper fire. They quickly vaulted over the rocks and kept their heads down as bullets whizzed overhead. "I gave you _one_ job. One job!" he hissed at Ren.

The amateur chef shrugged. "She was faster than I expected."

"Regardless, we can't advance while taking sniper fire" Pyrrha said, informing the obvious, before turning her attention to her captain. "What do we do?"

"The plan hasn't changed. We have to take out their sniper. Nora, covering fire" he ordered.

"Got it" the ginger grinned, transforming Magnhild into its grenade launcher configuration, and began to fire upon the members of Team BRNZ, halting their advance.

"Ren, draw her fire."

"Great, I _wanted_ to get shot today" he replied dryly.

"If you get hit, that's on you, cuz there's _no_ way she's a better shot than Ruby" retorted Jaune. "Just give Pyrrha enough time to get a beat on her. Go!"

Without hesitation, Ren bolted around the outcrop towards the trees, just as Pyrrha did a flourish to transform Miló into its M1 Garand sniper rifle configuration, and took position at the edge of their cover. May instantly took notice of Ren and smirked.

'Again?' she thought in amusement, repetition and predictability being bread and butter for snipers. She once again began to lead her shots, forcing Ren to zigzag.

Pyrrha immediately reacted to the sniper's gun shots, which were clearly visible in her scope, and she leveled her crosshair just above where the last muzzle flash had been. She quickly pulled the trigger thrice, holding her rifle tight enough so that the recoil hardly affected her shots; though with halved loads, the recoil was even more manageable than usual. The first shot struck the barrel of May's rifle, taking her by surprise, as she hadn't realized that anyone on Team JNPR was armed with projectile weapons; especially ones so precise. The second shot hit her in the shoulder, causing her Aura armour to take a heavy hit, and the final shot hitting her rifle scope, completely shattering it.

"Fuck!" she cursed, jumping out of her perch, knowing she needed to reposition.

It was too little too late however, as Ren had closed the distance between them, and quickly drew Stormflower, unleashing a hail of bullets, and knocking her out of the air. May crashed to the ground, but quickly forced herself to stand, and swing her rifle by the barrel as if it were a bat. Ren used the sickle bayonets of his pistols to block the attack, before pushing May backward, and spun to deliver a powerful spinning hook kick, hitting her in the right temple. While she reeled, Ren holstered his pistols in mid-spin, and swiftly disarmed her completely by grabbing her rifle and twisting it from her grasp.

"Over the top! Oppugnare! (Charge!)" shouted Jaune leaping over the outcrop with Pyrrha and Nora right behind, transforming their weapons as they vaulted.

"Shit! We got to help May!" said Roy.

"No! We have to take out Nikos!" ordered Brawnz. "Without her, the rest are nothing! Move out!"

He then began to sprint at the advancing Beaconites, backed up by Roy and Nolan. Jaune had heard the other captain's orders, and was not in any way pleased by his comments. He was now gunning for Brawnz, wanting to fight captain to captain, but knew he had to change tactics the moment Nolan pulled ahead.

"Malleus! (Hammer)" he shouted, causing Nora to eagerly take point, very much wanting another go at the pink-eyed Huntsman-in-training.

She made an overly telegraphed swing, allowing Nolan to drive his cattle prod into her gut, causing her to double over. Believing he had incapacitated her, Nolan threw a full-strength punch at the ginger's head. To his shock, Nora caught the punch and held it like a vice, as she slowly raised her head, grinning like a wild-woman.

"Thanks for the snack" she said, her body beginning to arch with electricity. Before Nolan could react, she rammed the top of Magnhild enforced by pink lightning into his chest, sending him flying across the arena.

During this exchange, Jaune and Pyrrha had begun to fight Roy and Brawnz, which was an impressive display of skill and teamwork. To the spectators, it appeared as if the couple was engaging in a dance, twisting and spinning around each other. They were in perfect sync, covering one another and alternating between their two opponents. The amount of time Jaune and Pyrrha had dedicated to training was now paying off, for they knew each other's movements so well, they could coordinate their combat without even speaking.

While they fought, Ren was ending his fight with May. It was incredibly one-sided, as the Vacuan Huntress-in-training had neither a backup weapon, nor any close-quarter-combat training. Ren delivered a pair of back to back crescent kicks, scattering what remained of her Aura armour. These were followed by a palm strike to her throat that led into two elbow strikes, before he began to twist his body as his pink Aura charged. Only pausing for a moment, Ren unleashed a left-handed palm strike to the centre of May's abdomen, sending her flying a dozen feet, before she crashed into the grass, unconscious.

"Lie Ren has defeated May Zedong!" announced Professor Port, as May's portrait faded on the screen.

"It's now a four versus three fight in favour of Team JNPR!" added Doctor Oobleck.

"We have to take out Nikos, now!" Brawnz shouted, and dashed away from Jaune to overwhelm Pyrrha.

Jaune tried to give chase, but Roy fired his blades at him, covering his captain, and allowing a weakened but still conscious Nolan, to join in the rush. The redhead held her ground, raising Akoúo and Miló, more than ready to take on all three at once. However, her captain had other plans.

"Pila pone! (Drop your javelin!)" he shouted, getting his lieutenant's attention. "Malleus! (Hammer)."

Understanding what he was doing, Pyrrha quickly dropped to one knee, revealing to the remaining members of Team BRNZ a very eager Nora swinging her hammer at them, lightning coursing through her body and weapon. Brawnz was able to pull himself backward, but Roy and Nolan were not so lucky, eating the brute force of Magnhild, and were sent flying out of the arena, into the walls of the Coliseum.

"Roy Stallion and Nolan Porfirio have been defeated by double knockout by Nora Valkyrie!" shouted Oobleck.

"See why she's my favourite student?" said Port with pride.

"With the match suddenly becoming a four versus one in Team JNPR's favour, I certainly do, Peter!"

Brawnz staggered backward, realizing just how much of a miscalculation he had made. His eyes darted between Pyrrha and Jaune, who were staring at him in amusement.

"So you thought that the whole team was being carried by Pyrrha, huh?" asked Jaune, not liking how the rest of them were being thrown under the bus. "As you can see, that isn't the case. How about I give you some advice" he continued, beginning to casually walk towards him, with Pyrrha at his side. "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy..."

"...for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat" continued Pyrrha, giving the blond a knowing glance, which he saw, and a smirk spread across his face.

"If you know neither the enemy nor yourself..." he carried on.

"...you will succumb in every battle" she ended, halting at the same time as her captain.

"You made your bed, now sleep in it" Jaune stated, pointing his sword at Brawnz, who was beyond confused, as he never expected to be literally schooled. "Welcome to Vale."

The couple unleashed a flurry of blows at the Vacuan student, who did everything he could to parry, block, and dodge the attacks. Of course, he could not fend off the assault. Pyrrha alone was more than a match for him, so both she and Jaune was overkill. Strikes began to get past Brawnz's defenses, whittling down his Aura, and of course dealing damage. He brought up his right clawed gauntlet to try and hit Jaune, but the blond took the motion as an attack of opportunity, and hit him with the edge of his heater shield, causing the Vacuan to reel back in pain.

"Pilum! Impetus altus! (Javelin! Attack high!)" he called, raising his shield above his head as if he were protecting himself from a volley of arrows.

Pyrrha understood his command, and leapt onto his shield, jumping off of it into the air, with the added momentum of Jaune aiding in liftoff. As she soared, Jaune grabbed Brawnz before he could recover, and drove his poleyn covered right knee into his opponent's gut. Above them, Pyrrha began her descent, spinning forward, and brought her right heel brutally onto Brawnz's head, forcing him to one knee, and shattering his Aura armour completely. Miraculously, he was still conscious, and forced himself to rise, but was unable to defend himself as both of his opponents unleashed powerful spinning side kicks that hit him with such force, he was sent flying out of the arena; unconscious before he hit the ground.

"And Brawnz Ni has been defeated by Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos! The winner of the match is Team JNPR!" announced Oobleck.

The crowd erupted in thunderous cheers and applause, the Valians and Mistralese loudest of all. The couple simultaneously struck their shields twice with the flats of their swords, which caused Pyrrha to look at Jaune with playful annoyance.

"Hey! That's _my_ thing!" she defended.

"Sorry. I noticed how much you did it during our training sessions and it looked cool, so I thought I should do it too" he replied, playfully brushing the accusation off as he sheathed his sword and shield. "I think it's fair given that you took my speech."

"Those were passages from General Arthur Paladin's book on war strategies!" she laughed, attaching Akoúo and Miló to her back. "He's the most studied general in history, and his writings have severed as a guide to military forces the world over. My father would read it to me when I was a child."

"Huh, me too actually. Well, I said it because it seemed appropriate. Either way" he said, folding his arms. "I think, as captain, I can borrow my lieutenant's flourishes if I so choose."

"No you can't!"

"Careful, Nikos" he warned in mock authority, pointing a finger at her. "That's insubordination."

"You jerk!" she laughed, giving him a playful shove, causing him to drop the facade and laugh together.

From a distance, Ren and Nora watched the couple with approving smiles on their faces.

"They've come a long way, haven't they?" Ren commented, folding his arms with a smirk.

"Yup" agreed the ginger, strapping Magnhild to her back, and placing her hands on her hips. "Jaune's become confident, and Pyrrha's come out her shell. They're both themselves now."

"They were made for each other" he added softly. "They've become pillars of support for one another; each other's good luck charm."

"Yeah..." Nora couldn't help herself from stealing a glance at him, thinking that he was made for her. Hesitating, she decided to take a chance and ask him the question that had been on her mind since the lockers. "Um...Ren...do you really think I'm _your_ good luck charm?"

The raven-haired young man looked at her for a moment, and felt his cheeks begin to warm as he saw the soft shy expression on her face. He looked back at their laughing friends, before taking a breath to steady himself.

"Yes and no" he answered honestly. "We've kept our promise to watch out for one another, relying on each other to keep us safe. The captain of the team we just faced assumed that Pyrrha was the one carrying us to victory; she being nothing more than a crutch for the rest of to lean on, as if we're too weak to fend for ourselves." He took another deep breath, knowing he was going to admit something more personal than he ever had to her before. "That's honestly a gross way to see your friends. I do rely on you, but I would never refer to you as a crutch or use you as one. You're so much more than that. Honestly, I would have never made it this far without you. So if calling you my good luck charm is what works for now, then I will."

Nora felt her heart skip a beat, his words taking her completely by surprise. Was he saying what she wanted him to be saying? Ren was so reserved as a person, and normally communicated by saying very little. She had grown to understand him in that respect, so hearing him speak like this was entirely new. She hadn't expected him to give her that head rub either, as his usual displays of affection never surpassed hugs; hugs that _she_ always initiated. Then again, he did say she was pretty in the dress she wore for the Dance. Was this just a continuation of what was born from his conversation with Jaune that night? It had been so long since the last out-of-nowhere compliment that she honestly expected it would take another year before it would happen again. However, with him now voicing his thoughts, her mind began to race, trying to unpack his words and decipher them. 

She desperately wanted to interpret his words as an admittance that she meant more to him than a surrogate sister. Finally learning that he had been checking her out was certainly fueling that desire, and was steadily building her confidence. However, she knew that she'd be lying to herself by considering him checking her out as an indication that he felt what she did for him. Her feelings were deep and passionate, growing in depth and passion with each passing year. It was love that she felt, not simply physical attraction. And yet, Ren saying that she was the reason he made it this far, filled her with more joy than she could put into words. He did care for her more deeply than he expressed, and while it was still in the territory of family, it nonetheless touched her greatly.

Nora knew that the right answer was the hardest; she needed to be patient. It was soul crushing, given just how long she had waited for him to begin to see her as a woman, but she knew she needed to be grateful for these small steps, and allow him to come to her. After she'd been the one to chase him, it was appropriate that it was now his turn.

She smiled at that premise, and without warning punched Ren in the arm. He jumped, not expecting it, and clutched his right bicep in confusion.

"Likewise" she said, showing him her smile, which painted his cheeks even pinker. Ren felt his heart began to beat as he looked into her big turquoise eyes, but smiled back, her words sending a wave of warmth across his body.

From the stands, Cinder and her cohorts watched Team JNPR throughout their post-match banter, with cold malice in their eyes. Mercury glared specifically at Pyrrha, the realization sinking in.

"And what do you make of that?" asked the half-Maiden, looking at him from the corner of her eye.

Mercury remained silent for a moment, contemplating whether he should be honest with her. The venom in her voice compelled him to speak frankly, if cautiously.

"She was holding back during our fight" he said at last.

Cinder pressed her index finger and thumb against a kernel of popcorn, slowly burning it.

"Will that be a problem?"

The assassin glanced over to Emerald, who looked back at him, and he could tell despite her well crafted mask, that she was feeling the same murderous tension being exuded by their leader. Her face may have been still, but her eyes betrayed what she was truly feeling.

"Not in the least" he replied coldly.

"Well that was even more of a spectacle than I expected it to be!" said Professor Port heartily.

"Yes indeed, Peter! All my expectations have been surpassed! Truly extraordinary!" agreed Oobleck with gusto. "The crowd expected the best, and by the Gods they got their money's worth with this one!"

"Absolutely, Bart! And I must say, Jaune Arc has truly grown as both a warrior and a commander. If he ever hesitated turning this fight, I couldn't see it. Stupendous work on his part!"

"Agreed my old friend. Team JNPR as a whole has come in top condition with their eyes set on winning the entire tournament. It wouldn't be ethical as an educator, but I would love to take a look at the bettering odds! Of course, I cannot condone gambling either!"

"Yeah, is it too late to change my bet?" asked Qrow from a bar stool at the private skybox, holding a glass of whisky gingerly in his left hand.

"All bets are final" denied Ironwood with a smirk, looking over his shoulder. "You can make a new bet if you'd like."

"...No thanks" he muttered into his glass, wondering why someone with his luck agreed to make a bet in the first place.

"Only the Gods know what the future holds. For now, Team JNPR will be advancing to the Doubles Round, and we will have to wait to see how they fare" added Port. "Until then, take a well earned rest, and allow us to prepare for the next match: Team SSSN versus Team NDGO!"

Team JNPR complied and walked together back to their corner, as Jaune sheepishly scratched his cheek, blushing from the praise. They traversed the now familiar path back to the reserved seating in the stands, each with a spring in their step.

"We won!" cried Nora excitedly when they returned to their friends.

"We saw!" Ruby cheered. "You guys did great!"

"That's an understatement. You all did a fantastic job" complimented Blake with a small smile.

"I'm actually impressed" Yang added, nodding in approval. "You two especially" indicated Jaune and Pyrrha "I thought you two were just making out during your private training sessions, but it looks like you really did train."

The couple felt their faces flush, but both decided to just accept the complement and not even address the tease.

"Thanks everyone. That means a lot" the captain said genuinely. "We look forward to seeing you in the Doubles."

"Same here" added Sun grinning. "Taking you guys on is gonna be tons of fun."

"You won't be saying that when you lose!" warned Nora with a grin of her own.

"As if we'd lose! You'll be the ones eating your words; unless you get super lucky."

"Well, we already got our good luck charms, so you're in trouble!"

"Oh yeah? Which are?"

"The person you care about, apparently" said Jaune, as he rubbed Pyrrha's head, causing her to blush. "Makes sense."

"Then I guess we should do that too; makes things even" smirked Sun, reaching over to rub Blake's head.

"A-Ah" the Cat Faunus stuttered, not ready for several reasons for him to do such a thing, and quickly said "W-Well, Y-Yang was the one that convinced me to go with you to the Dance so..."

The Vacuan Faunus paused for a moment, before changing targets.

"Ooo goodie" the elder Xiao Long said with venomous sarcasm. "I always wanted my own Monkey's Paw."

Sun instantly froze and sucked on his teeth, before returning to Blake and quickly rubbed her head.

"Well then, let's head to our corner, shall we boys?"

"I guess we should" agreed Neptune, as did the rest of Team SSSN.

"Good luck" said Weiss with a slight blush, which deepened when the blue-haired boy smiled at her, and took her hand to kiss it.

"Sorry about Yang" apologized Ruby, holding up her hands as if in prayer. "She's very particular about her hair."

"Good to know" replied Sun. "See you guys after the fight."

As Team SSSN shuffled past, Nora gave the blond a knowing glare, indicating that she was ready to brawl, and couldn't wait to face him in the next round. Sun returned the glare of his own, though a much more playful one, before disappearing around the corner with the rest of his team.

"OK, what was that about?" asked Yang, looking at her raven-haired friend with a cocked eyebrow.

"Yes, why would you suggest he rub her head and not yours? He's _your_ boyfriend" added Weiss, equally confused.

"H-He's not my–how's my bow?" the Cat Faunus stuttered, blushing deeply while touching her bow to make sure that her ears were properly concealed.

"It's fine. So why where you not down for Sun petting his kitty?" the blonde continued to pry. She was more restrained than she usually was when teasing about the Vacuan Faunus, but nevertheless wanted to know why Blake acted as she had.

"I-It's nothing. Just forget about it."

Yang and Weiss looked at one another confused, not sure what to make of Blake's behaviour, but reluctantly shrugged, letting it slide till a later date.

"Regardless, you four did very well. Well done" complimented Weiss.

"Thank you, Weiss" replied Pyrrha, smiling appreciatively.

"I must ask, what were those commands your where shouting, Jaune? I couldn't make out the words."

"Oh! Jaune taught us how to use commands in a different language so that the enemy team wouldn't know what we're planning!" explained Nora with pride, before slumping over. "It took _so_ long to memorize. Only _our_ captain would give us homework."

"Hey, you pulled through in the end" said Jaune supportively.

"Wait, you speak another language?" asked Yang incredulously.

"Etiam, didici a parentibus. Est unus de antiquis lingua. Datum quam antiqui domus mea est, et saepe locutus est. (Yes, I learned it from my parents. It is one of the ancient tongues. Given how old-fashioned my family is, we spoke it often)" he spoke eloquently, taking Team RWBY by surprise.

"Whoa" gasped Ruby, eyes wide.

"Where did this come from?" demanded Yang, also baffled.

"I know! It's cool isn't it?" Nora stated rather excitedly. "Who would have thought Jaune knew another language?"

"Überraschend?, ja. Ich muss jedoch einwerfen, wenn Sie denken, dass es so einzigartig ist, wie Sie andeuten (Surprising?, yes. However, I must interject if you think it is as unique as you are implying)" added Weiss, nonetheless eyeing Jaune suspiciously as she spoke.

"Dýo boroún na paíxoun se aftó to paichnídi (Two can play at this game)" commented Pyrrha smirking. "Í tría, se aftín tin períptosi (Or three, in this case)."

Yang clutched her head as if she had been told that her precious bike had been totaled.

"What is going on?!" she demanded before the realization struck her. "Oh wait, of course the history nerds would know a bunch of languages no one speaks anymore! Forget I said anything."

"Yare yare" said Ren under his breath, which only Nora heard and caused her to smirk, as he almost never spoke in his mother tongue.

Jaune and Pyrrha couldn't help but laugh at the blonde's frustration, as it was a new and fascinating experience for them. Suddenly, the taller blond felt his Scroll vibrate in his pocket, though it oddly seemed as if it wasn't stopping. Confused, he fished it out, and his eyes widened in realization.

"What's wrong?" asked Pyrrha, noticing the bewildered look on her captain's face.

"It's..." he began, his eyes bouncing up and down the screen, unsure of what to say. "My entire family is messaging me."

"Really? Why?" asked Nora curiously.

Jaune paused for a moment as he read the notifications flying in.

"...They're all...congratulating me..."

Indeed, each and every one of the texts that were sent Jaune's way, were those of his immediate and extended family cheering him on. He assumed that only some would bother to tune into the tournament, but he was shocked to see just how many of them had been watching his match. His mother and sisters, he understood, seeing their messages at the very top, alongside his brother-in-law, who he had a very distant relationship with, and expected him not to message him. Nonetheless, he had, along with his eldest sister, congratulating him and his team on their first victory. He began to slowly go through them all, reading each text and replying in kind, whilst feeling a strange humbling warmth wash over him. They were all honest and endearing, and with each one that he read, caused him to feel more and more pride for his family grow in his heart. However, when he finished, he noticed that one person had not sent a word.

'Of course he wouldn't text me' he thought with a sigh, feeling a bit foolish. 

"Well Peter, after that last match, Vacuo fans are sure to be hurting" said Oobleck. "But this next one will have them on the edge of their seats!"

"Without a doubt, Bart! Team JNPR has become an odd-on favourite leading up to the tournament, and without question have gained more support after their first match. But _this_ team has been making a name for themselves ever since they made their first appearance in the Vacuan circuit" added Port. "They are some of the toughest, testosterone-filled Huntsmen-in-training we've seen so far! I'm of course talking about...Team SSSN of Shade!"

From the Vacuan corner of the Coliseum emerged Sun and his teammates to the thunderous cheers of their countrymen in the stands. The cheers only grew as Team SSSN began to hype them up, waving and saluting the audience with gusto, making it clear they were not new to this sort of spectacle. There were of course many young women, Human and Faunus, squealing with joy to see them. This did not go unnoticed by Weiss and Blake, who simultaneously tensed, feeling pangs of jealously in their chests.

"Sun Wukong and his team are certainly a force to be reckoned with, with many expecting them to make all the way to the grand-finals and take the tournament" continued Port.

"And after their fellow classmates were knocked out by our own students, they have more reasons than you can count to win today!" Oobleck noted. "Though I very much doubt you need to tell them that."

As Team SSSN reached their starting position, Weiss plucked up her courage and cupped the sides of her mouth.

"Good luck, Neptune!" she called. While the photos of them together at the Dance had spread humours just as they did for Pyrrha and Sun, it seemed that Neptune's fan-girls either didn't care or didn't believe they were involved. Understandably that got under her skin, and she wanted to make it clear that they now had to keep their distance, for she had already struck her claim. 

Her cries caught the blue-haired boy's attention, and he turned his head to see the blushing heiress. He grinned and saluted her, which erased the jealousy completely, and replaced it with calming tenderness. Weiss calling out caught Sun's attention as well, and he locked eyes with Blake, giving her a special double-gun gesture with a wink, eliciting a blush and a small smile from his target.

"Yeah, totally _not_ your boyfriend" Yang said sarcastically, nudging her friend playfully.

"For those who can't handle these boys, brace yourselves for the lovely ladies of Team NDGO of Haven!" announced Port, enticing the Mistralese team from their corner into the arena.

"Good luck, girls!" called Pyrrha waving. The blushing members of Team RWBY looked at the redhead, which caused her to give them an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, but they were my classmates at Sanctum. I can wish them luck, at least."

"You think they'll beat SSSN?" asked Jaune.

"Team NDGO are a solid team, and did quite well back home, though I don't know how much they've improved since I left. Furthermore, I'm not well informed on Team SSSN's abilities, so I cannot make a solid prediction for either outcome" the Mistralese champion confessed.

"Either way, we'll be cheering for the team with Weiss and Blake's boyfriends" said Yang with a grin.

"Go Weiss and Blake's boyfriends!" cheered Ruby and Nora, causing the girls in question to become very flustered.

Returning to the arena, the teams began to size each other up.

"These dorks are famous? Seriously?" asked Dew Gayl, the young woman with dark blonde hair and violet eyes, holding a spear in her right hand. "I can't say I'm impressed."

"I don'know, I think they're cute" said Nebula Violette, the captain of the team with short indigo hair and a crossbow on her back, eyeing up Sun.

"Sorry ladies, Neptune and I off the market" informed the Monkey Faunus, holding his hands up defensively. "But might I interest you in our friends over here? They're single and ready to mingle."

He held out his hands to his left, indicating Scarlet and Sage. The latter posed with a grin on his face, while the former turned to look at his captain with an expression of confusion and bewilderment. Team NDGO looked over the other members of Team SSSN, and weren't shy in showing their initial judgements.

"I guess the outcome of the match will change our level of interest" Nebula said casually, as the biome roulette began to spin. The first slot landed on a symbol of sunny dunes and stone formations, causing Team SSSN to fist bump one another.

"Nice! Home-turf advantage!" grinned Sun.

"Makes you miss the sun and sand of home more than ever, huh?" remarked Neptune, stretching and soaking the sunlight as it formed behind him.

"I actually miss having sand in my shoes" added Scarlet.

"Think the other half will be caves filled with monsters? Then it'll _really_ be like home" Sage asked, as the second slot slowed its rotation.

"Hey! The ocean!" cheered Dew excitedly, causing the heads of Team SSSN to snap to the holographic screen, which now displayed at symbol of a tidal wave.

"Fuck..." cursed Sun, his eyes shifting to Neptune, who hands had balled into tightly clenched fists, and despite the sun beating down on them, was developing a cold sweat.

"Oh no..." moaned Blake.

"What?" asked Yang.

The Cat Faunus winced in sympathy as she looked at the blue-haired Vacuan, for she could clearly see the fear in his face.

"Neptune's...afraid of water" she said slowly.

"What?" echoed Weiss, looking at her friend with concern. "What do you mean he's afraid of water?"

"When I was hanging out with Team SSSN" explained Blake, rubbing the back of her arm as she spoke, "we walked past one of the little ponds on campus, and suddenly Neptune walked as far away as he could, coming back when we completely cleared it. When I asked what was wrong, he wouldn't say, and it was Sun who told me afterwards what happened."

The Schnee heiress looked back to the arena, her anxious eyes resting on Neptune, and she pressed her hands, fingers interlaced, into her lap.

'Please be make it through the match safely' she prayed.

"Three...two...one..." counted down Oobleck, as both Teams, safe for Neptune, drew their weapons.

"Neptune!" shouted Sun, snapped his friend out of his paralysis, which made him draw Ionio, currently in its rifle configuration. "You can do this, dude!"

"Y-Yeah" stuttered the lieutenant, gripping his weapon like a vice.

"BEGIN!"

Neptune instantly backed off, and with impressive agility, scaled the rock formation and took a designated marksman's position; or so he argued in his retreat. Team NDGO watched him in confusion, as Sun sighed, knowing how bad his friend's actions appeared.

"Did he just abandon you?" asked Nebula.

"No he...he's just... _repositioning_ " he replied, which earned him looks of disbelief from the girls. "Forgive him, he means well."

Nebula smirked. "Attack!" she ordered, charging with her teammates.

"Bollocks" muttered Scarlet, tossing his coat, knowing he would have to put in extra work.

"Don't worry, we got this" reassured Sun with confidence as he cracked his knuckles, his nunchaku tucked under his arm as he did so. "Let's kick some ass!"

The remaining members of Team SSSN engaged their opponents, knowing they would have to avoid being swarmed, given they were rushing into a four versus three situation. Scarlet locked eyes with Octavia Ember, the girl with brick-red hair and wielding a kris short-sword, and swung his cutlass, Midnight Star, in a wide stroke at her. She immediately fell to her knees and slid under the blade, before pivoting and lunging at Scarlet's exposed back. The Vacuan managed to reach behind with his sword and parried the attack, before spinning to the right to face his opponent.

Dew and Sage clashed several times before they entered the sand portion of the arena. Given the length of their weapons, it was difficult for them to engage properly. Deciding to take a new approach, Dew began wave her spear and summoned thirty foot tall tornadoes, kicking up sand, and created a miniature sandstorm. The three wind columns began to buffer Sage, and surrounded him before merging. Instantly, Sage felt his body lifting, and he quickly plunged his greatsword, Pilgrim, into the sand, hooking his right leg around the blade, taking care to use his Aura to avoid cutting himself. He began looking around him, trying to locate his opponent in the sandstorm, as he knew she would attack him when she realized he hadn't been thrown by her tornadoes. Then from the corner of his eye, he saw the glimmer of green moving towards him. Realizing it was the Dust crystal embedded in the head of Dew's spear, he readied himself just in time to see the sharp tip emerge from the swirling sand. He twisted his shoulders to the left, allowing the spear to pass, and like a vice, caught the shaft of the weapon. This caused Dew to halt in her tracks and her eyes widen, now visible to the Vacuan Huntsman-in-training.

"How...?" she gasped. Sage merely smirked.

"We have _a lot_ of sandstorms back home" he said calmly.

Without wasting the element of surprise, Sage grasped the spear with both hands, and with all his might, flung the Mistralese girl directly into her own tornado. She tumbled in the column before being thrown from it, and out of the arena, crashing onto the surrounding grass.

"Dew Gayl has been thrown out of bounds!" announced Oobleck. "And SSSN gains the advantage!"

Sage grinned that his plan had worked, before taking closer inspection of the spear that was still in his hands.

"Hmmm, nice spear" he complimented honestly, turning it over before reaching into his coat.

Outside the arena, Dew was dusting herself off, not happy with her defeat. She then jumped in shock as her spear impaled itself two feet above her head, with a small piece of paper tied to it. When she pulled it off, she saw a Scroll number with Sage's signature had been scribbled upon it in surprising fine spidery writing.

"Yeah right" she said, rolling her eyes.

In the arena, Octavia was now facing both Sun and Scarlet, as her evenly matched fight with the red-haired swordsman, caused the captain to lend a hand. Feeling the pressure, she swung her sword in a wide arch, which produced a wave of flame that also kicked up a plume of sand. While the Vacuan boys were quite used to sand and sandstorms, adding fire to the mix was a less familiar issue. Suddenly from behind them came a volley of blue electric bolts provided by Neptune, aimed for Octavia, who managed to deflect them. This gave Sun the opportunity to jump in the air and land a butterfly kick on the swordswoman, causing her to stumble. Scarlet then noticed Nebula rushing in to support her teammate, and began to fire his flintlock, Skullbuster, at her, before engaging her with his cutlass. With Sun able to properly fight one-on-one, he unleashed a storm of blows, separating and reconfiguring Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang from staff formation to nunchaku, and back again. When Octavia's defenses were completely blown open, he swung his staff around his body in a beautiful flourish before performing a powerful lunge, knocking her back with such force she was unconscious before she crashed onto the sand.

"Octavia Ember has been defeated by knockout!" announced Port. "The fight has become a four versus two match in Team SSSN's favour!"

Despite this unfavourable turn, the remaining members of Team NDGO were not showing any signs of surrender. Scarlet and Nebula fought while they ran across the arena towards the beach half. This was more difficult than it should have been however, as Gwen Darcy, the other remaining member of Team NDGO with shoulder length black hair pulled back into ringlets, was hailing throwing knives at him. In combination with Nebula loosing crossbow bolts, Scarlet knew he had to put some distance between them, as fighting them at the same time would mean certain defeat. He fired a quick volley at Gwen before taking off for the capsized pirate ship. Instantly, the girl threw a knife at the swordsman's exposed back, but the blade was blocked by Pilgrim impaling itself between them. Sage came barreling in to reclaim his weapon and even the odds, which did not boost the girls' confidence.

"Just keep moving and stay out of range of his sword; I'll be back" Nebula instructed before taking off after Scarlet.

Gwen looked at the tall muscular opponent as he pulled a sword nearly as tall he was out of the ground.

"Yeah sure, no problem" she muttered nervously, her eyes also drifting to Sun, who for some reason wasn't trying to fight with his teammate. The Faunus noticed this and grinned, as if he could read her mind. ~~~~

"It wouldn't be gentlemanly to gang up on a woman, especially when it's such an uneven fight, so don't worry. Sage is more than enough for the job anyways" he explained. "This match is as good as won."

"Lucky me" she retorted sarcastically, drawing a pair of throwing knives.

Scarlet boarded the ship and fired the trigger guard of Skullbuster, which doubled as a grappling hook, at the yard of the mainmast, and hoisted himself onto it. From below, Nebula fired her crossbow and imbedded a bolt into the mast, and used it as a stepping stone to reach the pirate-like Vacuan. When they finally came face to face, she grinned and held out her crossbow with both hands on the stock. Scarlet thought she was going to try and bayonet him with the blade at the front of the crossbow; which was odd enough given it was where the cocking stirrup would be placed. Just as these thoughts raced through his mind, the limbs of the crossbow collapsed and the blade extended, turning the weapon into a makeshift Iklwa spear.

The pair clashed blades, dancing across either sides of the yard. They both displayed wonderful balance in their exchange, though it was clear that the Vacuan was especially gifted. This made the fight more challenging for Nebula, as she wielded her weapon with both hands, forcing her to make rather limited strikes for fear of losing her balance and falling. Scarlet was not so limited, and parried the attacks expertly, before grabbing the foregrip of the crossbow with his free hand, and swiping at Nebula's legs with Midnight Star. The indigo-haired girl raised her right leg to avoid the attack, giving Scarlet the opportunity to spin clockwise and drive his right elbow into the centre of her chest, knocking her off the yard and into the water below. Pleased with himself, the swordsman glanced back to the fight between Sage and Gwen, which was still in progress, as neither had been able to land effect blows.

"I'll return the favour then, shall I?" he said to himself, and fired Skullbuster's hook at Gwen, catching her ankle, and hoisted her up as he jumped off the yard, using himself as a counter weight. As soon as he touched down, he sheathed his sword and used two fingers to whistle. "Oi, Neptune! Got a free one for ya!" he hollered.

The blue-haired lieutenant, who got as close as he dared, leveled Ionio's barrel at the suspended Huntress-in-training, charged a bolt, and fired it at her. It struck Gwen heavily, and shocked her till she went limp, passing out from the surge. Scarlet then let go of his pistol to bring her down, catching her with ease, and placed her gingerly on the sand.

"Gwen Darcy has been eliminated by an electrifying knockout blow from Neptune Vasilias!" announced Oobleck. "This match is all but over, as it now a four versus one in Team SSSN's favour!"

All that remained of Team NDGO was their captain, Nebula, who was now treading water, holding her crossbow in short spear form, eyes darting between all four members of Team SSSN.

"No shame in bowing out" offered Sun, walking with swagger towards her with Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang in its staff configuration, resting on his left shoulder.

The indigo-haired teen smirked despite the situation, and pointed the tip of her blade at the other captain, clearly unwilling to yield.

"Maybe for you, but surrendering isn't my style" she replied confidently. "I'd be willing to give you my number if _you_ forfeit, though."

Sun laughed as he entered the water.

"Sorry. Like I said, I'm off the market" he repeated, stopping around a dozen feet in front of his opponent. "Also, I'm into brunettes."

There was a momentary pause before Nebula bolted forward, crossing the distance between them in a flash, and brought her weapon down onto the Faunus. With both speed and grace, Sun split his staff into two pairs of shotgun-nunchaku, and parried the attack with Ruyi Bang in his left hand. He then spin-cocked Jingu Bang in his right, and shot the crossbow out of Nebula's hands, causing her eyes to widen at his speed. The blond then spun clockwise, tossing Jingu Bang to his other hand and he channeled his Aura into his right palm, before striking Nebula below the thorax with such force that she was sent flying into the hull of capsized ship, crashing into the sand beside her teammate.

"Captain Nebula Violette has been defeated by captain Sun Wukong!" announced Port. "Team NDGO has been eliminated from the tournament, sending Team SSSN to the Doubles Round!"

The crowd erupted into cheers, with the Vacuan spectators reaching a fever pitch, ecstatic that their favourite team had avenged the previous loss. Sun pounded his chest like a gorilla, and along with his team, responded to the crowd enthusiastically. The Mistralese groaned in despair, now with two back to back loses, their spirits were dampened greatly. Team RWBY and JNPR joined in the cheers, and laughed at Team SSSN's celebratory dance with Sun windmilling in the middle. However, Neptune stood there rather solemnly, clearly not as enthused as his friends.

"That was a fantastic match!" complimented Oobleck. "I'm sure the Vacuans watching at home would agree, as Team SSSN has ended Shade Academy's losing streak!"

"And I would bet that the Mistralese at home are hurting for the opposite reason" added Professor Port. "But fear not! There is still a chance for the Kingdom of Mistral to achieve glory, as Team CLME will be facing Team ICCE of Ýdalir in ten minutes time. If Team SSSN would finish their dance number, that is."

Sun and his friends heard the message loud and clear, and made their way back to their assigned corner, taking care to avoid the water as it vanished below ground. In the stands, Weiss rose to her feet.

"Let's go congratulate them" she said, grabbing Blake's hand, and dragged her away from the others, ignoring her protests. They reached the hall below ground, and headed in the opposite direction, hoping to reach the Vacuan locker-room before Team SSSN exited the arena. They caught them just as they entered the waiting room, all minus Neptune brandishing excited smiles on their faces. "Congratulations!"

"Hey, thanks, Ice Queen! Glad to know _someone_ is happy we won" the Monkey Faunus teased, clearly referring to Blake, who received a strong nudge from Weiss.

"Y-You did really well. I'm glad you won" the brunette said softly, blushing from both embarrassment and nervousness. Her blush only depended when Sun grinned at her, pleased by receiving her praise.

"I think we should go topside to give the lovebirds some time alone. What do you say, Scarlet?" said Sage with a smirk.

"I'd say so. They've certainly earned it" he replied, and walked out of the waiting area after saluting the girls. Neptune began to walk for the door, but was stopped by Weiss.

"You did very well, Neptune" she said softly, but felt a sting when he didn't look at her.

"Yeah...I'll see you guys later..." he sighed, and walked out into the hall.

"Nep–" began the heiress, but felt the words die in her throat; the sight of the blue-haired Vacuan making her feel deep concern, as despite him being 6'3, he appeared to be much smaller as he sulked. She instantly wanted to chase after him, but the need to understand what had affected him so strongly forced her to stay, and she turned to face Sun. "What happened?"

The blond rubbed the back of his neck. "Forgive him. He's just..."

"Blake told me that Neptune is afraid of water" she echoed. "I watched the fight. _That_ was not fear; that was how someone with a phobia behaves. Please tell me what happened to him."

Sun folded his arms, as he wasn't sure if it was his place to reveal part of his friend's past, even if it was to the girl who liked him. Nonetheless, he could see the concerned expression on her face was genuine and he sighed, giving in to her demand.

"We're from a desert Kingdom. There's barely any water as it is, so most of us don't know how to swim. Only people close enough to the coast get that chance, which is how I learned. Funny enough, Neptune's parents are fishermen, so you'd figure he'd know how...but no. Instead, he has a deep fear of drowning."

He paused for a moment when he noticed Weiss held her hands together tightly, pressing them against her skirt, and he quickly continued.

"When he was a kid, he nearly drowned, and he's been terrified of water ever since. I've tried convincing him to look for a way to get over it, but he won't budge. And for the record, I've never seen him act that way before. He reacted _way_ worse than usual, and I guess it's because you were watching."

"What?" the white-haired Atlassian gasped, feeling as if she had been stabbed in the chest.

"I'm not blaming you! And he's not blaming you either!" the blond Faunus hastily clarified, waving his hands defensively. "He just wanted to look good for you and fight well. And if I could guess to why he's so disappointed, is that he might think that you think he's a coward."

"A coward?!" repeated Weiss gobsmacked. "Why in all of Remnant would he think that?"

"He cares about what you think of him" Sun replied. "He turned you down at the Dance because of how bad of a dancer he is, and he's told me how much he regrets doing that. And now, he acted even more cowardly, so he feels shameful."

Weiss mouth fell open. "Having stage fright and being paralyzed by memories of a past trauma is not the same thing!" she argued in frustration, and without uttering another word, turned and walked with all possible haste out of the room after the blue-haired young man.

Sun reached out to stop her, but was too late, and instead began to rub the back of his head in annoyance.

"Gahh! Neptune is gonna be so pissed at me for telling her!" he groaned, cursing himself.

"You did it because you care about him. He won't be mad at you for that" reasoned Blake, feeling rather proud of him for telling Weiss the truth.

"Maybe. I just know that he really does care about her, and it was so dumb of him to turn her down because he can't dance worth a shit. He doesn't want to mess this up any further, and _I_ don't want him too either" he reasoned. "It's weird how stubborn he can get sometimes when he's usually so polite and understanding."

Blake placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to look up at her.

"You did the right thing. I kind of understand your frustration, since everyone, especially Yang, weren't happy with me turning you down and not wanting to go to the Dance. Neptune is your best friend and you want him to be happy. He'll understand why you did it before long" she explained with a small smile.

Sun gazed at the disguised Faunus, and couldn't help but smile back.

"I guess you're right. We'll find out soon enough. Shall we meet up with the others?" he asked.

"Yes" she replied before blushing and looking away. "And I really am happy that you won."

Sun grinned, knowing that this time she was being genuine, and wrapped his left arm around her, pulling her into a sideways hug.

"Thanks. You're super cute when you're shy, ya know that?"

Blake's face lit up when he did this, and couldn't come up with a proper response, causing the blond to laugh, and guide her to the exit so that they could return to the stands.

λΛλ

Weiss had looked everywhere below the Coliseum for Neptune, before finally returning to the surface and exiting the stadium. She had tried to call him several times but he wasn't answering his Scroll, meaning he did not want to be found. That wasn't going to stop her however, as she knew that she needed to get to him, even if his stubbornness didn't want her to. When she did finally leave the Coliseum, she surveyed the city streets before her. It was unsurprisingly dead, as everyone who had come for the festival were all currently spectating the tournament. To her relief, her eyes finally rested on the boy she was looking for, seated on a park bench and inspecting his rifle. She slowly walked up to him, and when he didn't acknowledge her presence, she spoke.

"Neptune?"

The blue-haired student's head snapped to attention, and looked at her with genuine shock, as if he had been so focused on tuning Ionio, he hadn't noticed her approach.

"...May I sit down?" she asked softly.

He gazed at her for a moment before silently nodding, and returned his attention to his weapon. Weiss sat beside him, but remained silent. She had been so preoccupied with trying to find him that she hadn't given herself the time to ponder over what exactly she would say to him. For her to simply say outright that his feelings of shame for being aquaphobic were wrong, would probably not be the wisest decision to make. Nevertheless, she needed to say _something_ , as she couldn't bear to see him in such a state. Taking a breath to steady herself, she began to break the silence.

"You did very well today" she complimented again, slowly.

"Hmmm" he hummed, clearly not convinced by her words.

Weiss felt another sting in her chest, and decided to try and gently get to the root of the issue.

"Is everything OK? The others seem very happy with their performance."

"The guys always do well, and today was no different" he replied flatly.

The heiress looked down at her hands that were once again balled into fists as they gripped her skirt. There was no other option; right to the root.

"Sun told me why you are afraid of water" she confessed at last, making Neptune look at her.

"Why wou–"

"You're not a coward!" she exclaimed, cutting him off. "I cannot imagine what it must have been like to nearly drown, or what it must feel like now to harbour that fear, but none of that makes you a coward. I would never think of you that way!"

Neptune stared at her in shock, not expecting her to say that, and began to feel a conflicting set of emotions building.

"But I backed away from the fight in fear. How am I not a coward?" he argued.

"But it isn't your fault! You nearly drowned. _Anyone_ would have acted the way to did."

"Yeah, but I'm not just anyone. I'm training to be a Huntsman, and a Huntsman isn't supposed to be afraid of dumb stuff like that" he growled, displaying more anger than he wanted to. He massaged his temples in an attempt to calm himself, before speaking once more. "Did I ever tell you why I decided to become a Huntsman?" he asked. When Weiss shook her head, he continued. "In Vacuo, the unwritten rule is that if you can survive here, then you are welcome here. Because of that, everyone learns how to fight; whether you become an official Huntsman or not. The culture is pretty nomadic, but there are some permanent towns, one of which is my hometown near the coast. My parents are fishermen, and I was expected to continue the family business. After I nearly drowned on a fishing trip when I was a kid, I could never get near the water, let alone board a ship ever again, so I felt beyond useless; my only talent taken away from me. I knew that I had to do something to help my parents when they would be too old to run the business, so I chose the only path that made any sense: to become a Huntsman. I want to be something my parents can be proud of, even if I can't carry on the family trade. So far, I've managed to become a strong fighter and gain fame, but that fear hasn't left me. I might be a minor celebrity and have all the confidence in the world, jumping into any fight, ready to face any challenge, but I'm still afraid of water. So long as I never have to fight Sea Grimm I'll be fine, right?"

Weiss looked upon him in muteness, taken aback by his words. The cool and dapper presentation that Neptune usually displayed had now completely washed away, revealing a conflicted and stressed young man. This was the first time that she had seen this side of him, and was beginning to understand why he was struggling.

Neptune pressed the butt of Ionio's stock against the top of his boot as he stared at the ground.

"I'm not as cool as you think am anymore, huh?" he stated half-heartedly, with an equally half-hearted smirk on his face. That smirk instantly vanished when he felt a soft hand take his left, causing him to look at the white-haired Huntress-in-training, who gazed at him with tender eyes.

"Yes, your coolness was the reason I became interested in you when we first met" she said honestly, squeezing his hand. "But getting to know you as a person is the reason why I've stayed. Coolness, is a form of appearance, and I have spent my entire life with people who spend every waking moment keeping up appearances. What I value far more, is honesty. And what I want is for you to be honest with me. Are you interested in my family name or me?"

"What?" blinked Neptune, "Of course I'm interested in you. I didn't know who you were until afterwards. You think I like you because you're some rich girl?"

"Do you?"

"No!" he gasped, dropping his rifle and turning to face Weiss. "I just thought that you were beautiful and I wanted to get to know you. I turned you down because I didn't want to make a fool of myself and make you look bad in the process. It was stupid of me yeah, and I really owe Jaune for telling me to stop being up my own ass and just be honest, but I'm–"

"Then I don't care if you have a fear of water or if you can't dance. I like you for you, and that fact you like me for me, means more to me than I can express" she said, cutting him off gently. "I can help with the dancing, and while I am not sure how to help you overcome your aquaphobia, I'm more than willing to try, if you want me to."

Neptune swallowed, suddenly becoming very aware of his tongue. He hadn't expected her to be so open, given her rather reserved nature. On top of that, she was without a doubt an Ice Queen, and yet, she was now glowing with a warmth he hadn't seen before. It made his heart quicken its pace, and felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. His squeezed her hand in gratitude as he returned her smile.

"Are we alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think we are. Thank you, Snow Angel" he replied softly, eliciting a blush from the Atlassian, who secretly loved her nickname.

To show her appreciation of her pet name, she took him by surprise and kissed him tenderly on the cheek. Her smile widened when she saw that it caused the Vacuan boy to blush, as well as deepen her own. It was to be expected of course, as that had been their first proper display of affection, other than him kissing her hand. Glad that she had that affect on him, she rose to her feet, maintaining her gentle grasp of his hand.

"Shall we go back to the others?" Weiss asked softly.

It took a moment for Neptune to find his voice, but quickly responded when he did.

"As much as I would love for us just to stay here and spend some time alone, I guess we should" he confessed as he picked up Ionio and fastened it to his back. He then semi-consciously changed his grip of her hand so that their fingers were now interlaced, and together they walked back to the Coliseum. Secretly, the pair was thinking the same thing: they both were incredibly thankful for one another, and they were greatly indebted to Jaune Arc. 

λΛλ

Just as the couple returned to the reserved seating in the stands, Professor Port was in the process of selecting the biomes for the last match of the day.

"Finally, you're back!" said Ruby, clearly not pleased at how long they had taken to return.

"You almost missed the start of the match! What the Hell were you two doing?" Yang asked in annoyance.

"I can hazard a guess" added Blake, pointing out that the couple in question were holding hands.

"Oh of course" Yang remarked as she rolled her eyes, though she let slip a smirk. "Should have guessed."

"Hey, way to go Ice Queen" said Sun, giving them a thumbs up.

"Yeah, thanks for telling her by the way, asshole" the lieutenant shot back with only half-seriousness.

"Hey! I was trying to help you out, bro!"

"You did, and thanks, but you're still an asshole for doing it. Now move over" he answered with a smirk.

Sun clicked his tongue sassily, and slapped Sage's arm to initiate the shuffle to allow Neptune and Weiss to sit to his left. When they sat, Weiss leaned over to the Monkey Faunus and whispered a thank you to him. He gave a curt nod and a grin, glad that things had worked out.

"And now let us begin the final match of the day! Team CLME of Haven vs Team ICCE of Ýdalir!" announced Oobleck. "Three...two...one...BEGIN!"

"Go Cinder! Go Emerald!" cheered Ruby.

"Kick their asses!" shouted Yang.

"It appears we will be cheering for opposing teams" said Weiss matter-of-factly. "I'll be cheering for my countrymen this time round. You can understand, right Pyrrha?"

"Hmmm" the redhead hummed, focusing intently on Team CLME.

"What's wrong?" asked Jaune, instantly able to tell that something was on her mind.

"Team CLME" she began, "they are your friends, yes?"

"Yeah, they're really nice. Emerald even found my wallet at the fairgrounds" explained Ruby.

Pyrrha remained silent, continuing to watch the match hunched over with her chin pressed against her interlaced fingers, elbows resting on her legs.

"...I don't know who they are" she said at last, causing the others to look at her, Blake gazing at her with exceptional focus.

"What do you mean?" asked the Atlassian Huntress-in-training.

"I don't recognize them. They're from Mistral, and they have to be our age, therefore I must have seen them when I was at Sanctum. And yet, I don't remember their faces in the slightest" the Mistralese champion explained cautiously.

"Maybe they're from a different school. We're from Signal but Coco's from Pharos" reasoned Yang.

"Sanctum is the only Primary Huntsmen Academy in Mistrial" Pyrrha informed. "Therefore, they must be graduates of Sanctum, and they did not graduate with me."

"Maybe they got pushed ahead like I did" suggested Ruby.

"But they're our age so that can't be" countered Blake, beginning to understand what the redheaded swordswoman was getting at. "They're first-years so they had to have gone to Sanctum with Pyrrha."

"There must be so many students in Mistral, Pyrrha" argued Weiss. "You couldn't possible remember them all."

"Yes, I can" she countered resolutely, not taking her eyes off the match. "I am a four-time consecutive champion of the Mistral Regional Tournament. I have fought with _every_ known and unknown combatant in my age bracket from across the Kingdom of Mistral. I kept an eye on the Mistral tournament rankings throughout my time as an active athlete, and continued to do so since I transferred here. I never forget a face, and I can say with certainty that I have _no idea_ who Team CLME is." 

A tense atmosphere of uneasiness settled upon the group, as they now understood the severity of what she was implying. Pyrrha knew exactly who Team ARBN and NDGO were, so it was very suspicious that the members of Team CLME were entirely alien to the most prolific and well-traveled athlete of their generation; especially when they claimed to be her countrymen. It begged the question: just who were they?

"Perhaps they are like us" suggested Weiss, referring to herself and Pyrrha. "They merely transferred from another Kingdom."

"How likely is that?" asked Jaune. "I know why Pyrrha left Mistral; why did you leave, Weiss?"

"I didn't want to serve in the military alongside my sister, though I still wanted to be a strong representative of the House of Schnee, and honour Atlas" the heiress replied. "I chose to enroll into Beacon to further strengthen the bonds between our once feuding Kingdoms, as well as to stand united in our fight against the Grimm."

"Exactly. Weiss and I are special cases. The vast majority of people train and operate within their Kingdoms" continued Pyrrha. "All of us here are from the four Kingdoms of Remnant. Does anyone recognize them?"

"They didn't go to Signal, and I'm pretty sure they didn't go to Pharos either" admitted Yang.

"Not ringing any bells" confirmed Coco, as Team CFVY had begun to listen in on the conversation.

"Definitely not from Oscuro" tossed in Sun. "Hell, I can tell just by looking at them they sure aren't from Vacuo; unless I missed something."

"Nah, you're spot on" agreed Neptune, along with Scarlet and Sage.

"Then I can confirm they aren't from Atlas either" confessed Weiss, "thus making my point invalid."

"They could just be a special exception" offered Jaune, though not entirely believing his own suggestion. "Can't people just enroll so long as they qualify?"

He added that possibility as a reference to himself, Blake, Ren, and Nora, for none of them had attended either Signal or Pharos. Then again, they had all been caught by Huntmaster Ozpin, and Jaune certainly didn't qualify the same way his friends did; previous education or no. It was only by Ozpin's empathetic blessing that they hadn't been rejected outright. What this did do however, was plant a small seed of doubt in Pyrrha's mind.

"I suppose..." she said slowly, "though that would be a rare thing to occur...and for it to happen not only once, but _thrice_ more afterwards..." Pyrha then frowned, and went over what she had said. 'Am I over thinking this?' she asked herself.

Team CLME could very well have been a special case. And even if they weren't, would it not be hypocritical to withhold the same benefit of the doubt she had given Jaune? Though that was true, there was still an uneasy shadow that hovered over her mind, however. Ever since she fought Mercury Black, there had been an eerie feeling of caution that never dissipated. She could tell that he had been holding back, and she wasn't entirely sure why. It could very well be that he was merely testing her for the tournament, which if anything, pointed to the fact that he would be sent to the Singles Round. Nevertheless, there was still something unsettling about the young man. He may have a strong poker-face, but his eyes had a hint of malice behind them. The same went for his captain, Cinder. There was something indescribably cruel about her aura; not her literal Aura, but her general composure; something that could only be sensed instinctually. That final thought brought the concerned redhead to the only reasonable conclusion, for she knew where the road would lead otherwise.

"Perhaps I should have a talk with them" Pyrrha suggested at last. "Instead of creating conspiracy theories, I will simply ask them directly."

"That would be the most logical option" agreed Ren, with Nora nodding.

"Are you going to ask them after their match ends?" asked Jaune.

"Yes, I think I will."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

Pyrrha straightened and placed her hands into her lap.

"No, I think it would be best if I spoke to them alone. I'm not looking to start an altercation. I just wish to clarify the confusion. Thank you though, Jaune."

The blond eyed her with uncertainty, his own anxiety heightened with her voicing her suspicions. Her voice then began to echo in his mind, recalling her previous words of caution. 

_"_ _Nevertheless, our enemies do appear to be gathering at our gates, and it must be for a reason. I have fears regarding the White Fang, as a terrorist group mobilizing at the same time as a massive international gathering like the Vytal Festival, could spell..."_

While things had been very quiet after they had stopped Roman Torchwick's assault, the looming fear of the White Fang and their other allies was ever present in the back of their minds. They still had no real idea as to _why_ they had united, nor did they know exactly why they were attacking the capital in the first place. Was it just to cause terror, or was there an even more sinister objective? This of course led Jaune to wonder if these unknown players were connected to...

'That might be reaching...' he thought, though now that he had contemplated the possibility, it was impossible to shelve it entirely; a feeling in his gut warning him to be cautious.

Blake had also been thinking along those lines. She had initially been too preoccupied with her fears regarding Adam and the White Fang to notice, but now that things had calmed, she had switched her focus to Team CLME. She couldn't put her finger on it, but they were strangely familiar. Had she met them before? She couldn't even guess the general timeframe where she could have encountered them; though it most certainly had to have been before coming to Beacon. It was that possibility that caused her to hesitate, and not share immediately with the others she was having the same suspicions as Pyrrha. Doing so meant she would have to explain more about her past than she was willing to share, and she selfishly hopped it wouldn't come to that just yet.

"And the winner of the match is Team CLME of Haven!" announced Professor Port. "The Mistralese are certainly happy with that display, though I'm of course just stating the obvious. What an explosive Day One of the tournament, wouldn't you say, Bart?"

"Indeed I would! And it only makes me more excited for the matches that are to come! But that will have to wait, as that concludes the matches for today. We shall see you all tomorrow, so please leave the Coliseum IN A CALM AND ORDERLY FASHION!" bellowed Oobleck.

With that announcement, Pyrrha rose to her feet, and turned to leave, but stopped when she felt a familiar hand take hers.

"You sure?" Jauned asked once again.

"Yes, don't worry" she replied softly, squeezing before reluctantly letting go.

The blond watched his lieutenant leave, before slumping into his seat with his arms crossed. The others hadn't moved either, unsure of what to do next. They could simply return to their dorms and wait for Pyrrha's return, but the uneasiness that had blanketed them, kept the students rooted. Perhaps it would be better if they waited for her make her way back to the reserved seating, as it would be difficult for them to leave, given that the Coliseum was emptying. Jaune began to tap his finger against his arm, his patience thinning by the second, until it finally emptied like sand in an hourglass.

"Gods damn it all" he spat before jumping to his feet and heading straight for the exit.

This caused a domino effect, beginning with Nora and Ren, who were compelled to follow their captain. Blake was only a moment behind along with Weiss, which caused Sun and Neptune to follow. With only a moment of hesitation, the rest of the group brought up the rear, and quickly caught up with the brisk pace set by Jaune. They used the subterranean halls that linked the four locker areas to get to the Mistral side, as there was no doubt Pyrrha had chosen the same route.

"Do you think something is going to happen?" asked Blake, walking to Jaune's right as he led the pack.

"I pray that it won't come to that" he replied honestly, eyes locked forward.

"The fact you've been gripping your sword like that says otherwise" commented Weiss, who had noticed the blond had been holding the hilt of Crocea Mors as if he was afraid it would be taken from him.

"If they so much as lay a finger on Pyrrha, I'll take their heads" he growled, his Aura pulsing for an instant, causing his golden locks to flare, and revealed he had succumbed to his darker suspicions of Team CLME.

This took his immediate friends aback, never before hearing him speak in such an intimidating tone, or making such a violent threat. However, while shocking, it wasn't surprising in the least. Jaune and Pyrrha had yet to go on an official date, but it was abundantly clear that they cared deeply for one another; to the point the others could confidently call it love. If her life was in any way in jeopardy, then it was fully expected for him to want to protect her with his. That confirmed a few things for the others, as Jaune had not been alone in is his speculations, and set a new tone. Instinctively, the others reached for their weapons as they neared the Mistral locker-room, now expecting the worst.

However, Ruby and Yang were less than content with the blond's anger, for it implied a harsh animosity to their new "friends". It was strange that Pyrrha didn't recognize them, but the Xiao Long sisters weren't ready to throw them under the bus and think of them as their enemies. Cinder, Emerald, Mercury had all been so nice to them ever since they first met. Even their other teammate, Laura, while hadn't spoken a word, also seemed nice enough. The girls weren't so naive that they had forgotten Pyrrha words, and what Jaune's threat was diverting from them: suspecting Team CLME was connected to Torchwick and Taurus. As suspicious as the situation was, they weren't prepared to jump to that conclusion just yet, and would need more proof before joining in.

When the Huntsmen-in-training entered the locker-room, they unfortunately found it deserted, and Jaune quickly led the others to the passage that led above ground. As they finally exited the Coliseum, they found themselves amongst the spectators, and they desperately began looking around for Pyrrha.

"She's there!" called Ruby, pointing across the park to the tall Mistralese Huntress-in-training, who seemed to be looking for something or someone.

They quickly made their way over to her, and Jaune was the first to call out, causing her to face them.

"Jaune, everyone" she said in surprise, not expecting them all to follow her.

"Where are they?" he asked.

"I don't know" she admitted. "I just caught a glimpse of them exiting the locker area, but when I exited the Coliseum, they were gone. I must have lost them in the crowd. I'm sorry."

"It's alright. You're OK, and that's what matters" sighed the blond in relief. "We'll get another chance tomorrow, or even today if you want to go directly to the arranged lodging for the Haven students."

Pyrrha paused for a moment, thinking over the suggestion, before glancing to her friends, whom she now noticed were tense and resting their hands on their arms.

"No, I think it would be best if we all sleep on it, as I can clearly see you were all spoiling for a fight" she replied.

"If anyone was spoiling for a fight, it was this one" Yang remarked, wrapping her knuckle against Jaune's pauldron. "He was about to go berserk if they attacked you."

"Uhuh" agreed Coco with a smirk. "Remember girls, find yourself a man that wants to protect you like this one wants to protect Nikos."

The captain of Team JNPR blushed at the call out, realizing how brutally honest he had been. He meant every word of it of course, but it was the first time that he had shown just how far he would go for Pyrrha in front on his friends. He looked at the redhead and found her lightly blushing with a small smile on her face.

"Yes, I'd consider myself very lucky. And thank you for your concern, everyone" she said graciously. "However, I must point on that this is exactly why I wished to speak to Team CLME alone, for you all look rather hostile to my eyes, therefore you will certainly appear hostile to them. Again, I think we should sleep on, for it will give me enough time to think it over, and see if I've merely forgotten their faces. Rushing to violence is not the answer, and we should never attribute malice when stupidity will do, as my father liked to say; stupidity in this case being my faulty memory. I think we should go and enjoy the rest of our day, and perhaps Team CFVY should rest, given you will be fighting tomorrow."

"Not a bad idea; that or take advantage of the festival's sales and get some last minute shopping done" contemplated the well dressed second-year, eyeing the crowd. "Then again, maybe not with this amount of people about."

"How about we get something to eat? I'm _starving_!" moaned Nora.

"I think we've earned that after our victories" smirked Ren.

"I'm down" agreed Sun "Who's up for BBQ?"

The students all voiced their agreement, and headed through Albion's Commercial District in search of a good BBQ joint. However, Jaune, Pyrrha, and Blake still had their suspicions of Team CLME, and continued to mull over the supposed Mistralese team's origins. Only time would tell how correct their suspicions would be.

λΛλ

As the sun set over Beacon Academy, Huntmasters Ozpin and Ironwood, along with Winter, Qrow, Glynda, Port, and Oobleck, all situated themselves in the headmaster's office around his desk. All possessed stern expressions on their faces as they examined the portraits of Team CLME on a holoscreen.

"So these are Her Pawns and Bishop?" asked Port.

"Unfortunately" replied Winter, shaking her head in disbelief. "For them to recruit so young..."

"Don't let their baby faces fool you, Ice Queen" addressed Qrow, fishing out a leather-bound flask from his vest. "They may be young, but they must have been taken in for a reason; that one especially" he pointed at Mercury "I knew that one the moment I laid eyes on him."

"It isn't hard to believe She would recruit people no older than our students by that very admittance" added Ozpin, pressing his chin into his fingers. "Do we not train child soldiers?"

"Only voluntarily and for a much holier cause" countered Ironwood, inspecting a tablet he held in his hands as he smoked a cigar. "Intent is just as important as means."

"Then what are we to do?" asked Oobleck. "We can't possibly continue with the tournament if they've infiltrated our defenses to this degree."

"We _have_ to carry on given how far they've infiltrated" corrected Ozpin, nodding to the General.

"Exactly" James agreed, taking a long draw from his cigar before slowly blowing the greyish blue smoke out of his lips, ending with a retrohale through his nose. "The border has effectively been secured, shutting down any external threat. It's the _internal_ threat we need to worry about. Thankfully, we are more in a position of control than you may think. My military opinion is to continue to draw them in until it's too late for them to retreat."

"And continue to put the lives of our students at risk" remarked Glynda bitterly. "Not to mention the thousands of spectators, and the hundreds of thousands of civilians in the city."

"I have sworn an oath to defend the lives of the innocent just as you have, Glynda. I will not let a single soul be taken; you have my word."

"Then arrest them!" she shot back. "If we know who they are then just stop them before they can do any more damage."

"We are still gathering intelligence" explained Winter. "If we engage the enemy before pinpointing the exact location of Adam Taurus and his forces, then not only have we lost an incredible opportunity to capture a vile terrorist at the top of Atlas' Most Wanted list, but possibly provoke a repeat of what happened in Mantle. We cannot allow either to occur."

The Deputy-Huntmistress stood in mute frustration, struggling with the need to argue for the safety of the school and the city, versus conceding to the valid points of her brethren. She turned to look at Ozpin for support, but only received an apologetic look.

"James is our military advisor, Glynda" the silver-haired Huntmaster said with empathy. "My field is ancient history and folklore, therefore I have no choice but to put my faith in the General's and the Major's guidance. We all have our part to play."

"Then we do nothing?" she asked incredulously.

"Hardly" countered Ozpin, pouring himself a cup of tea. "We shall continue with the current plan. Bart and Peter will continue to officiate the tournament unaltered, giving our informant more time to collect the information we need. Qrow will keep an eye on our uninvited guests, while I will play the part of the dutiful Huntmaster."

"And keep the Council in the dark" added Qrow in amusement, taking a swig of his flask.

"Anything to impede the bureaucrats" commented Winter with a small smirk.

"And you're certain that this plan will work?" continued Glynda.

Ironwood exhaled the smoke of his cigar slowly before giving his well thought out reply.

"When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard at first. Instead, exhibit the coyness of a maiden, until the enemy gives you an opening. Afterwards, emulate the rapidity of a running hare, and it will be too late for the enemy to oppose you. Such is the art of warfare."

Winter nodded in approval as Glynda looked to the marble floor, partially unconvinced. She crossed her arms and took a breath before looking back to her Huntmaster.

"Will that be all?" she asked, slightly hopeful there was more.

"Not quite" admitted Ozpin bringing his teacup to his lips and blew gently before taking a sip. "I believe it is time to have a word with Miss Nikos."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter was to address a number of issues with V3. The first was the poor fights, which used "comedy" to cover up the bad choreography. The second was the character assassination of Neptune. While I don't know why they did it, I do know that Neptune's aquaphobia, was nothing more than an inside joke that Kerry can't swim. I thought that was awful, so over the years, I've come up with my own explanation and development for Neptune. Sadly, the best Neptune has to offer cannot be shown in this story, but I hint at plenty. And lastly, to address the massive plot-hole of Team CLME (or CMEN ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° ). Making SSSN from Haven makes it even worse, which was why I had always thought they were from Shade.
> 
> It goes without saying, but V3 was incredibly rushed, and not much has changed.
> 
> Speaking of which, it turns out that Rooster Teeth and CRWBY lied, as V8 is NOT complete, and will go on a 2 month break. Is it because they want to avoid crunching their team, or is it something else? I'm sure it will be leaked sooner or later. However, I always suspect the worse with them. Therefore, I repeat myself: when people say CRWBY know what they are doing with RWBY, I call thee a liar. 
> 
> Anyways, cheers, and see you all next time. Ave Legio JNPR! Ad Victoria!


	7. Of Gods and Monsters

The following day was another beautiful one. Plenty of sunshine with a light breeze; perfect for spectating the second half of the Team Rounds. Unfortunately, the brighter the sun, the darker the shadows, as Teams RWBY, JNPR, and SSSN had learned. They were all seated in the Beacon dining hall, picking at their food more than eating it. While they had taken Pyrrha's advice to sleep on their suspicions of Team CLME so that cooler heads would prevail, it appeared that it had the opposite affect; fermenting and becoming more potent. Team RWBY didn't want to think that their new friends were secretly aligned with Torchwick and the White Fang, but Pyrrha's analysis of the situation had made them very doubtful of their innocence. Blake was even more cautious, and paid for it by getting very little sleep, as she had spent the night wide awake, wracking her brain to recall where she had met them before.

Pyrrha had also been deep in thought on the matter, doing her best to be absolutely certain that she hadn't forgotten their faces. She wasn't perfect, as much as her fans would say otherwise, and she could very well have come across the members of Team CLME, and had simply forgotten about them. It's what prompted her to go through her old tournament seedings, trying to find them amongst the hundreds of combatants. She may not have fought against them, but they may, at the very least, had participated in a tournament she had. To her dismay, she found nothing, and only caused more wariness. Pyrrha continued to second guess every thought she had on the matter, as she kept asking herself if the only reason she was suspicious of Team CLME at least to this degree, was because of Roman Torchwick and the White Fang. If those parties were never in the picture, would she be this worried? That question continued to vex her as she did her best to eat her breakfast, where she was barely making any progress with. When she looked at the others, she saw that they were all in the same boat as she was.

"I take it everyone has been thinking about Team CLME?" she asked, already knowing the answer. The others looked up at her, each slightly startled, as they had been jolted out of their thoughts by her question.

"After what we talked about yesterday, kinda hard not to" admitted Yang.

"We should just go over to the Mistral lodgings and ask them what's up" declared Sun, not a fan of the indirect approach.

"We can't just barge in and start interrogating them" pointing out Weiss. "Just because you and Neptune were junior detectives, does not give either of you the powers of arrest."

"We're not gonna kick the door in like it's a raid; we'll just ask them some important questions."

"And if it turns out they are planning something, _then_ we take them out and drag them to the police" added Neptune.

"It's not as if we haven't ignored the rules before" said Blake with a slight hint of sarcasm, earning a smirk and a finger point from the blond Faunus.

"We could give Huntmaster Ozpin a tip" suggested Jaune. "He did bend the rules for Ruby and her team to purposely raid Torchwick's hideout, and that was after she dropped the hint of its location in the first place."

"It couldn't hurt" agreed Ruby.

"I agree" said Pyrrha at last, pushing her plate away from her. "I think we would do that, after I speak to them myself; alone."

"Are you sure?" asked her captain, the worry of the previous day returning.

"If they are secretly working with our enemies, then a dozen armed warriors turning up to their dorm asking questions of their identity, will have major repercussions" the redhead argued. "I am the only person here from Mistral, so it makes sense that I would like to speak with them. I'll begin with that I'm curious about home, and that I was impressed with their last match. I'll be fine, don't worry."

Jaune frowned at her, unconvinced, which made Pyrrha take his hand and squeeze it reassuringly.

"I'll call as soon as I'm done speaking with them. If I suspect anything, I won't fight them alone. I promise." The blond gazed at her for a moment, trying to think of a better counter than "I'm really worried about you getting hurt", but sighed when he knew he had nothing.

"Just be careful" he said at last. Pyrrha smiled and kissed him on the cheek, something that had become very natural for her.

"I will" she reassured, and began to stand, when the loudspeaker of the dining hall began to speak.

" _Will Miss Pyrrha Nikos please report to Huntmaster Ozpin's office_ " said Deputy-Huntmistress Goodwitch. " _Miss Pyrrha Nikos, please report to Huntmaster Ozpin's office, thank you_."

The others all looked at the redhead in question, confused to what was going on.

"What did you do?" asked Nora.

"I'm getting flashbacks..." said Ruby nervously, causing the others to shift in their seats.

"I'm sure it is unrelated, and it won't take long. I'll text you when I finish up before I head over to the Haven lodges" Pyrrha assured calmly, and made her way out of the dining hall, leaving her friends to continue pondering over the matter at hand, their concern only growing.

λΛλ

Glynda lead Pyrrha to the large double doors of Ozpin's office, and knocked thrice before opening one once she heard the Huntmaster call. When they entered the office, she was surprised to find that Ozpin was not alone. To his left was Huntmaster Ironwood, along with another White Army officer that greatly resembled Weiss. To his right was a man she didn't recognize with graying black spiky hair, slight stubble along his jaw line, and an Ehwaz e rune pendant that looked like a capital M hanging around his neck. At his hip were two tattered sashes, one red and one white, and wore a gray dress shirt with a long tail, black dress pants and black boots. Attached to the base of his back was weapon she could not identify. It appeared to be a sword, but the handle was over extended, and the blade itself was shortened to the point of seeming axe-like. Obviously it was collapsed for more comfortable transport, but Pyrrha was still curious to what the weapon truly was.

However, what caught her attention the most, were his eyes. They were a dull red, which was certainly unusual, but what drew her interest was the sadness that lay behind them. Never before had she seen eyes like his; so filled with pain and melancholy that they gave the man an air that bordered on the macabre. As she and Glynda approached Ozpin's desk, Pyrrha did her best to avoid gazing at him, which was proving to be more difficult than she expected, as she could feel the sombre man's eyes pierce her very soul.

"Thank you for coming, Miss Nikos" greeted the silver-haired Huntmaster, giving her a small but warm smile. "Please, take a seat."

"Thank you" she returned graciously, but faced Ironwood and saluted respectfully. "It's very good to meet you in person, General, and thank you for your kind words yesterday."

Ironwood smiled as he returned the salute, and held out his hand.

"The pleasure is all mine, my dear. You and your team put on a fantastic display. I look forward to the remainder of the tournament."

Pyrrha shook his hand with a smile of her own, and then looked over to the female officer when she also extended her hand.

"Please allow me to second that, Miss Nikos. It is good to see that my sister's praises of you were well founded."

"Do you mean Weiss?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yes. I am her elder sister, Winter Schnee."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Weiss has been a good friend to me ever since we met."

"Well, it is good to see she has made at least one friend who is... _focused_ on her education" said Winter with as much politeness as she could muster.

Despite sensing the Major's less than impressed recollection of Team RWBY, Pyrrha smiled.

"I wouldn't have it any other way. Team RWBY's enthusiasm makes up for their shortcomings, and Weiss has proven to be a good guide for them" she replied with genuine politeness.

"Yes..." Winter admitted with a small smile that revealed the pride she had in her sister. "We shall see her progress in the Doubles Round. Do not hold back if you face her. Friend or no, experience is vital." 

Finally, Pyrrha looked towards the last member of the group.

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe we've met before" she said politely.

"Qrow" he replied shortly.

"Oh. You're Yang and Ruby's uncle, aren't you? They mentioned you when we were out for lunch yesterday. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr…Xiao Long, or is it Rose?"

"Branwen" Qrow corrected, the coldness in how he said his family name caused the redhead to wince.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't aware."

"Don't mind the old crow" assured Ironwood with a smirk. "He just doesn't like getting up at a decent hour." 

"Sorry for being the only sane one here, Jimmy" Qrow shot back, causing the Atlassian Huntmaster-General to chuckle heartily.

Thankfully that was enough to ease the tension, and allowed Pyrrha to take her seat and face her Huntmaster once more, whose kind smile never faded throughout the exchange.

"Qrow is a colleague of mine, and one of my oldest friends" explained Ozpin. "Fear not; his bark is worse than his bite. Now, I would feel it disrespectful to not congratulate you on your first victory. Your team performed wonderfully."

"Thank you, Huntmaster" she replied, his praise bringing a smile to her face. "We trained intensively, and the results were all that we hoped for."

"Indeed. I spoke with your captain, and he was quite certain that his plan would ensure you victory. So far, so good, I would say."

"Much to Qrow's chagrin" noted Ironwood, earning him an annoyed sneer from the lonesome Huntsman.

"Jaune's has had a mind for strategy ever since I first met him, and it has only strengthened since. Thank you for your kind words, Huntmaster" Pyrrha replied politely, glad he approved of their performance.

"You're very welcome. Now then, I am sure you would like to know why you've been summoned" Ozpin continued, getting a nod from the lieutenant. "Tell me, Miss Nikos, what is your favourite fairy tale?"

Pyrrha blinked in confusion, not expected such an unrelated question.

"I'm...sorry?"

"Fairy tales; stories from your childhood. Surely you must remember some of them."

The redhead paused for a moment, and a nostalgia laced smile began to spread across her face.

"Well, there's The Little Briar Rose, The White Cat, The Goose-Girl, The Valiant Little Tailor, The Princess on the Glass Hill, The Black Bull of Northern Way, The Norka, The Golden Branch, Snowdrop, The Seven Foals, Heart of Ice, The Dragon of the North, The Beast of Gévaudan, The She-Wolf and the River Twins, oh, and Sigurd the Dragon Slayer. There are others of course, but those are some of my favourites."

"That's a rather splendid assortment of tales, Miss Nikos. A fair number of them are rather unknown; both due to age and lack of translation into modern common languages. I must say I am impressive that you know so many off the cuff."

"Thank you, sir, though the praise should all go to my mother. It's due to her profession that granted me the honour of hearing fairy tales and legends from across Remnant that are, as you said, old and rarely translated. She would read them to me every night when I was a little girl."

"That would certainly explain your eclectic knowledge and taste. Tell me, have you heard of the Story of the Seasons?"

"Well, of course! A callous old man, who refuses to leave his home, is visited by four traveling sisters. The first understands his reclusive nature and urges him to use his time in solitude to reflect and meditate. The second brings him fruits and flowers, tending to his crops and revitalizing his garden. The third warms the man's heart, convincing him to step outside and embrace the world around him. And the fourth and final sister begs him to look at all that he has, and be thankful. In return for their kindness, the man grants the maidens incredible powers, so that they may continue to help others all over the world. They graciously accept, and promise to share their gifts with the people of Remnant till the end of days. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall; the Four Maidens. My mother loves that story. It's a shame that it doesn't seem to be as well known in Vale."

"Indeed" agreed Ozpin, nodding his head. "It's been my favourite since I was a boy, which both ignited and fueled my pursuit in studying ancient history and folklore; a passion that you and I share. So tell me, Miss Nikos, what would you say if I were to tell you that those tales are true?"

The champion paused for a moment before smiling.

"Well, _all_ legends have _some_ truth to them, Huntmaster."

"Not some... _all_."

The change in the tone of Ozpin's voice produced tension in the young woman's heart, and in the Huntmaster's office. She could feel everyone's eyes upon her, but it was in a manner that made her feel more uncomfortable than she could describe. Pyrrha had been shy girl in her youth, and having spectators other than her parents for her spars had been nerve-wracking. That was long in the past of course, for she had now become a professional, and was completely unaffected by thousands of people watching her intently. How Ozpin and the others gazed at her however, was something else entirely. 

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe that I follow what you are suggesting" she said in a measured manner.

"I think you know _exactly_ what we're suggesting" Qrow answered in a low voice.

Pyrrha's eyes drifted to each of the senior Huntsmen, and saw there was not a hint of doubt or humour behind their eyes.

"...Please explain."

Ozpin watched her for a moment before producing a small smile and poured a cup of tea, placing it before her. He could tell with ease that she was experiencing a maelstrom of emotions, primarily anxiety and curiosity; a rather potent combination if not soothed.

"Our world is one full of mysteries, Miss Nikos. Things that we cannot explain with the knowledge and tools we have at hand. The more we delve into them, the more questions are asked and left unanswered. For the four Kingdoms and beyond, there are countless legends, fairy tales, myths, folklore, and old wives' tales, all fueling our imaginations and inspiring us in one way or another. You are right when you say that all legends and myths possess a grain or two of truth to them, but I can tell you with all sincerity and honesty, Miss Nikos, that the number of them that are true, are far more than you could have ever dared to imagine. The most important of them, is the Story of the Seasons, and the reason as to why, is because it is true.

When I first came to Beacon nineteen years ago, I was just as determined to become a Huntsman to fight the Grimm, as I was to study ancient lore. It was those very fairy tales that inspired me to take up the cause. It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but I dreamt of being like those heroes who fought the monsters and saved the day. However, I soon learned once I began to walk the path of the Huntsman, that I possessed much more valuable talents than combat. I also learned that my predecessor, Huntmaster Greydane Tanngnjóstr, was also fond of old lore, and would indulge my curiosity with many stories that he knew, and even granted me near unrestricted access to the vast academy library. It was there, between the pages of forgotten tomes, that I discovered that the Maidens may in fact have existed. My childhood nostalgia took advantage of this discovery, and I began to spend every spare moment researching if the claims had any validity. Then, after many sleepless nights, and finally entering the most restricted part of the archives that even I had not been given permission to access, I found what I was looking for.

I found a very damaged tome that went into more than moderate detail about the Maidens after they received their powers. Like any prominent figure, they drew followers, worshipers, and disciples. One group however, stood out amongst the rest. An ancient order called the Maiden's Ring was formed to safeguard the history and knowledge of the Maidens, and insure that the line of succession of each Maiden would remain strong to protect the world. This order was once known throughout Remnant, operating for over two thousand years, before they decided to go into hiding. The text I found does not explain why they made this decision, but I can only assume that it was to maintain secrecy, and to protect the young Maidens and their families. Unfortunately, their efforts were in vain, as at some point, the Order was destroyed."

"What happened to them?" Pyrrha asked, only realizing then she had been holding her breath in rapture.

"We do not know" admitted the Huntmaster with a sigh. "As I said, the tome I found was in poor condition, and contained significantly less information than I had hoped. Please bear in mind, we are dealing with some of the most ancient history of our world that spans thousands of years. To have _any_ of it survive till the present is a blessing in and of itself. Furthermore, it would be impossible to compile and contain multiple millennia's worth of knowledge in a single tome; without sacrificing a great amount of detail. The author of this text, a young paladin named Heidrian the Heroic, admits that the information he is presenting, is a compilation of oral tales, significant later editions of original texts, and whatever else he could find. He mentioned there were 'Dark Agents' at work, which could be responsible for the demise of the Maiden's Ring, though he does not go into detail of who or what these Dark Agents were. Nevertheless, what he did put to paper, has proven to be accurate, and has severed the Order well in regaining what was lost...within reason, of course."

The redhead sat in silence, her mind racing, trying to make sense of everything she had been told. Overwhelmed was the largest understatement of the age, as she her mind was being flooded with questions, making it impossible to decide which she should ask first.

Suddenly, she heard herself say, "If the Order was destroyed, why are you speaking as if it is still operating?"

Ozpin smiled, glad that she had been paying attention.

"Because Miss Nikos, it is. When I discovered that the Maidens were real, I took it upon myself to revive the Order, and make it my life's work to search for them, wherever they may be."

"And dragged us all with him since we had the rotten luck to be in his vicinity" commented Qrow cynically, earning a glare from Winter.

"Only you would complain of being granted such a humbling honour and privilege" she shot back disapprovingly.

"You'll understand when you've been doing it for as long as we have."

Winter said nothing, allowing the room to return to a deathly silence. Pyrrha was deep within her own thoughts, trying to categories her questions, and ignored her tea that slowly grew cold. At last she spoke, doing her best to remain both calm and respectful.

"If I am, for the moment, to accept that what you are telling me is true...why are you telling _me_ , Huntmaster Ozpin?"

The silver-haired Huntsman leaned forward in his chair, and peered over his glasses.

"Do you believe in destiny?" he asked.

"Of course" she answered, though it was odd to hear the question after being the one to ask for so long.

"I do as well, and I believe it was destiny that brought you here; that brought us _all_ here; whether we are grateful for the opportunity or not" Ozpin continued, causing Qrow to suck his teeth. "From the moment that I laid eyes on you, I believed that you were destined for great things. Your titles and victories mean little. It was your conviction, your composure, and your dedication that convinced me that the Gods had blessed you. I have told you all of this, Miss Nikos, because I, as head of the Order of the Maiden's Ring, along with my fellow members, believe that you are the best candidate to inherit the Fall Maiden's powers."

Silence blanketed the room once more as Pyrrha sat stunned. Nothing could have prepared her for what had just been told. Even the explanation of this supposed order, could have her readied her to be told she would be directly blessed by the Gods. Of course many had said she had been ever since she was young, and to a degree she agreed, but not in this context. There was a part of her that was demanding to be rational; to demand answers for a thousand other questions, as it was absurd to take any of this on its face. And yet, there was another part of her that was enamored by what the Huntmaster was saying. Not the idea that she was destined to be some great paladin or a Goddess incarnate, but that there was a group of people actively fighting for a holy cause above that of the Hunt. It was that desire to protect that drove her to become a Huntress in the first place, and to why she championed for others to do the same. Ozpin's words were awakening those feelings once more, along with her religious background causing her to feel that this might very well be a calling. There was one factor that remained, and it was what held her emotions in check: was it really all true?

"I have several questions" she said at last.

"As would anyone" Ozpin replied with a humorous smile.

"And anyone would laugh, call you a liar, and walk away. If this is all true, and is such a valuable secret, to be guarded for thousands of years, why did you decide to tell me before guaranteeing that I would swear my allegiance with an oath of secrecy?"

To Pyrrha's surprise, the adults all smiled approvingly.

"Because we knew that anything less than the truth, would not convince you" confessed Ozpin, propping his elbows onto his desk, interlacing all his fingers except the indexes, which he pressed lightly against his lips, half masking his smirk.

"Have you actually found any of the Maidens?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yes, the Fall Maiden, as I mentioned."

That surprised the lieutenant, as she interpreted what Ozpin had meant by her being the best candidate for the Fall Maiden, was that it would be for the future when they found her. This changed the situation greatly, and brought about even more questions.

"Can I meet her, because if she exists and is already part of your order, then why do you need me to inherit her powers?"

Ozpin removed his fingers from his lips and rose to his feet.

"While I am not particularly fond of the phrase, as it truly limits one's view of the world" he said as he walked around his desk, "I must admit that in this case, it will serve us accordingly: seeing is believing. Please come with me, Miss Nikos."

λΛλ

The Huntsmen entered the elevator without speaking. Around the Car Operating Panel were a series of large golden hex bolts, one of which Ozpin pushed and revealed it was secretly a button, causing a hand scanner to emerge. He placed his left hand on the screen, which immediately began to scan him, and pulsed green once it accepted the print as legitimate. The cabin began to descend after the scanner retracted into the C.O.P., leaving the elevator completely silent, safe for the hum of the machine drive. It was Pyrrha that broke the silence.

"Where are we going, Huntmaster?" seeing that the cabin was nearing the ground floor.

"The vault below the school" he replied softly, just as the elevator passed the assumed end of the shaft. "Some things are best kept from prying eyes."

The cabin returned to silence, though it was only momentary, as Pyrrha still had an innumerable amount of questions left to ask.

"What was the purpose of the Maidens?"

"As I stated previously, the Maidens were given to the world in order to protect it from Darkness; the Grimm and other monstrosities" Ozpin explained. "In the early days of Men, we were not as well equipped to deal with the shadow dwellers as we are now. The Maidens would fight against the creatures that we could not defeat, even at the cost of thousands of lives. Outside of the Hunt, the Maidens would do everything from advising and crown Kings, hold court, officiate religious ceremonies, the days of Solstices especially, teach magic, marry couples, conduct funerals, and many other roles. They were once a predominant part of our society, until the Order went into hiding, taking the Maidens with them, to continue their original purpose in secrecy: to be the Hammers of the Gods. And with the Grimm growing in number and activity in this current age, we need those hammers more than ever."

The elevator at last came to a halt, and opened its doors to reveal a very large but sparsely lit hallway with a high vaulted ceiling. Pyrrha followed Ozpin as he and the others stepped out of the cabin, and walked forward. Her eyes began to carefully scan the hall, and found it was filled with many tall bookshelves, containing not only tomes of knowledge, but ancient artifacts, weapons, and pieces of art. Most were from Vale, given their style and design, but others were clearly that of Atlas and Mistral, with some being even of Vacuo, before its shattering. 

"If the Maidens were so important to the world, and were so active for so long, then how did they turn into a nearly forgotten fairy tale?" asked the Mistralese athlete.

"Like any event or person in history, they transition from common knowledge, to history, to legends, to fairy tales, and then antiquated knowledge on the cusp of being forgotten" Ozpin replied. "Wars have a nasty habit of destroying history, so much knowledge of the past has been lost. Furthermore, with the Order going into hiding, nature took its course, along with members of the Order took care to safeguard that history by taking it with them. As time went on and the original Order destroyed, there was no one to maintain the training and protection of the Maidens. Their powers continued to transition from one generation to the next at random; possibly without the knowledge of the transfer even occurring. Our mission once restoring the Maiden's Ring, was to locate the current successors of the Four Maidens, train them if they were young and healthy enough, or protect them if they were too feeble until a new successor could be found. And after years of searching, we finally found one of the Four."

The group stood before a strange pod-like apparatus with a second pod adjacent to it. Within one contained a young woman who appeared to be sleeping, wearing nothing but two pieces of medical undergarments. She had a light brown complexion, with shoulder-length straight brown hair, and extensive scaring across her face. Pyrrha watched her with a sensation of dread, unable to look away from the young woman's injuries.

"She is the Fall Maiden?" she asked.

"Yes. This is Amber Calico..." Ozpin sighed, his eyes reflecting more pain than he permitted his voice to portray, "...and our dear friend."

"What happened to her?"

"She was attacked while returning from a scouting mission six months ago" Qrow explained with bitterness in his voice. "If I had just gotten to her sooner..."

"There's no guarantee that you could have changed the outcome" Ironwood offered sincerely.

"Bullshit" he growled back. "The kid got blindsided and overwhelmed, which means her attackers weren't some secret elite assassins. If they were, then she wouldn't have been so cut up or lasted as long as she did. She only lost because she hadn't mastered her powers. Damn it..." Qrow turned his back to the others, gripping his belt in frustration. Despite his sour and macabre exterior, it was clear that he still cared deeply about his friends, which certainly changed Pyrrha's initial impression of him.

"We've managed to keep her stable thanks to this state-of-the-art stasis device my army's medical division created" explained the General. "However, it wasn't the attack itself that's placed her in this condition."

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"Amber's attackers were not assassins" continued Winter, "at least not in the conventional sense. They were specifically targeting her to take the Maiden's powers, and according to Qrow, were performing some form of magic to take it from her by circumventing the normal process."

"Circumventing?" the redhead echoed, looking to her Huntmaster.

"Yes" he answered, obviously uncomfortable with the subject matter. "Heidrian the Heroic provided some explanation on the inheritance process, referred to as 'The Changing of Seasons'. Firstly, the term 'Maiden' appears to be literal, as in a young woman. The powers of the Maidens can only be wielded by young women, and will hold onto them until their deaths. The rest is rather sparse, though Heidrian mentions that the current Maiden's power will transfer to the last person in their thoughts, or with someone she is making direct eye contact with in the last moment before death; eyes being the windows to the soul. Men cannot inherit the power, as far as we are aware."

"Shit, that reminds me" Qrow muttered turning back to face his fellow members, and looked directly at Pyrrha. "You haven't fucked that Arc kid yet, have you?"

Pyrrha's face exploded into colour, and her eyes became as wide as dinner plates in both horror and embarrassment. It was bad enough to be asked these things by Yang, but for her uncle to do so in front of the Huntmasters and faculty, nearly killed her.

"Qrow!" shouted Ironwood, Winter, and Glynda in unison, as Ozpin closed his eyes self-consciously.

"What?"

"That is don't-ask-don't-tell" Ironwood continued hotly.

"Bullshit; that's need-to-know!" Qrow fired back, pointing at the flustered Maiden-candidate.

"As I said" Ozpin managed, opening his eyes slowly. "It _appears_ that it is literal, not that it truly _is_. That is the unfortunate issue with reviving an order this old without any set guidelines. As far we know, which means that as far as Heidrian the Heroic knew, men cannot inherit any of the Four Maiden's powers, and if a dying Maiden has no one to directly transfer the powers to, then it will randomly awaken in another young woman. He makes no mention that a woman's womanhood needs to be intact to be blessed with the Maiden's powers, however. Heidrian does make some reference to specific temples for transferring the powers of the Maidens from one wielder to another. However, we have yet to find any of these temples, and they could very well be nothing more than places of worship or holy sites; by this point destroyed by nature, development, or time. This leaves us in the desperate situation we now find ourselves in with Amber's attack. Amber's attacker divided–" Ozpin caught himself, and rolled his cane in his hands before continuing. "We do not know what occurred exactly, but half of the Fall Maiden's powers were taken by Amber's assailant. I am trying to be careful with my verbiage, as we do not know if her powers were divided or _fractured_. This, as far as we are aware, has never occurred before."

Pyrrha, who had recovered from the shock of Qrow's bluntness, now began to understand the severity of the situation.

"Does this mean that if she dies, her assailant will reclaim the other half?" she asked.

"We can only assume, hence why we've placed Amber in an induced coma and stabilized her in this device" Ironwood replied fatigued. "As archaic as it is."

"I thought you said that it was state-of-the-art?" she reminded him.

The General gave her a sheepish smile.

"These are not mutually exclusive" he said, which perplexed the lieutenant, as by definition _were_ exclusive. "In Atlas, we've been experimenting on new innovations with Dust, and delving deeper in its relationship with Aura. In doing so, we've been able to develop technology to correctly identify individual and unique Aura signatures. In a military application, correctly identifying targets would become invaluable. In our situation, it's allowed us to identify the unique Aura of a Maiden; or should I say, the magic of a Maiden. This is where the special functionality of this stasis device lies. Because we can specifically identify the Maiden's powers within Amber, we can focus on it, and harness it. By using the Aura boosting technology of the device that is meant for healing, we can surge the Maiden's powers and forcibly remove it from Amber. Aura cannot be contained in any way, let alone that of a Maiden, so it must be transferred into a Human or Faunus woman. That is what the second pod is for. If you chose to accept our proposition, then by stepping into the second pod, we will transfer the remainder of the Fall Maiden's powers into you." Ironwood looked at Pyrrha, who appeared to be somewhat shaken by what he had just told her. "I wasn't joking about it being archaic."

Pyrrha was greatly confused by this claim, for as far as she was aware, there was no way to see or identify unique Aura with current technology. All Huntsmen could sense Aura, but the specialized could sense it at great distances, along with suppressing their own to avoid it being sensed by others or Grimm. She supposed that if it were possible, and was discovered by the White Army, it would be a heavily guarded military secret; coinciding with the nature of the Order. Perhaps that was why the General referred to the stasis device as archaic, though it still perplexed her, as well as leaving her somewhat suspicious.

Pyrrha then looked at the comatose Amber, her eyes resting once again on her scarred face. She had been attacked and would have been killed if not for Qrow, but was now left to a fate she had no say in. Her stomach was twisting itself into knots as she thought about what consequences would come of all of this.

"What will happen to Miss Calico if we take the powers from her?" she asked finally.

"We pray that the remaining powers of the Fall Maiden will unite with you" answered Ozpin. "The terrifying truth is that we have no idea if this will work, along with the uncertainty of the Maiden's powers being damaged, leaves us at the whims of fate."

Pyrrha then turned to look at the Huntmaster with harsh eyes.

"What will happen to her?"

Ozpin looked her in the eye and saw where she was asking from.

"She will most likely die" he said slowly.

"Then I cannot accept your proposal."

"Miss Nikos–"

"NO!" Pyrrha half shouted, her face filled with disgust and tinged with anger. "This is wrong! You are asking me to kill her! Do you truly wish for me to have _your_ friend's blood on my hands?"

"Amber is a Huntress who swore an oath to protect her Kingdom and the innocent, as well as the oath of our Order" Ironwood stated strongly. "She knew all of the risks involved with those oaths."

"Oaths she _chose_ to swear" Pyrrha fired back. "Huntsmen swear to defend their kith and their Kingdoms with their lives, soldiers swear to do the same, but they do so by _freely_ accepting those terms. The Gods gave us free will so that we can make our own decisions; good and bad. She is in a coma, and cannot give me her consent to potentially take her life! This goes against _everything_ that I stand for; my morals, my values, my faith, and the oaths I swore. How can you come to this conclusion so lightly?"

"We don't, Miss Nikos" said Glynda stepping forward. "Please believe us when we say that we hate this just as much as you do, if not more so. But we are left with so few options."

"You said a few" Pyrrha caught, hoping there was a way to avoid wasting innocent life. "What else can we do?"

"If we can find and kill the slut that attacked her, then maybe with the Maiden's powers united again, we can save her" said Qrow, though the tone in his voice showed he wasn't holding his breath on it working.

"If the powers don't transfer themselves into a completely different woman" added the Atlassian Huntmaster, "or disappear entirely, which is why I would recommend capturing her alive."

"We have spent the past half year going over every possible option, Miss Nikos" continued Ozpin, pain clearly visible in his eyes "and we are out of time. Our enemies have come to finish what they started, and I fear much more is at stake than the loss of a dear friend."

"The Dark Agents..." Pyrrha whispered in realization.

"Yes. Just as we have returned the Order of the Maiden's Ring to the world, so have the forces of Darkness to meet us. How I wish we had more time to prepare not only you, but the other promising young men and women of this academy, James', Teodoro's, and Leonardo's, for what awaits us at the turn of the tide. But these are the cards we've been dealt, and we must tempt fate with the best gambles we can muster." He placed a hand on her shoulder as his face softened. "I am so sorry for placing such a burden upon you. Never in all my life have I wished to put the lives of children in harm's way; that goes against all of my own morals and oaths. This is why I do not ask of you this great request lightly, and I will not pressure you further into making your decision. This device is the contingency plan. If things remain on course with the strategy we have devised, then you have only until Amber's condition takes a turn for the worse, as we would have successfully retrieved the Maiden's powers. Furthermore, returning the Fall Maiden's powers to Amber could in fact save her, thus that possibility drives us to capture her assailant as soon as possible. If we fail, and our enemies encircle us, then we will need you to decide before we lose every inch of ground we have gained over the past two decades."

Pyrrha shut her eyes and took a breath to steady herself.

"That does apply more pressure, Huntmaster, but I'm sure you chose to be honest, as anything less than the truth would not convince me" she suspired.

Ozpin smiled somberly. "You deserve nothing less than the truth" he said, before deciding to make a more comforting appeal. "You are a person of faith, are you not, Miss Nikos?"

"Yes, I am an Anazititís Asterión; a Starseeker."

"Ah, of course. You are a practitioner of Vóreios Astéras; those who seek the northernmost star. That explains your convictions through and through, for the light of the Northern Star guides you in all your ventures. This, of course, is why you are our first and only choice in this endeavor. You are right to have your concerns, and we are made more certain of your legitimacy because of it. The values of your faith coincide with ours, as we too believe in the importance of free will; very much so in the clashes against the paralyzing fear that the enemy so joyously revels in. Take the time you need to think on the matter, and confine in your Gods. They will guide you, as they guide us all" he advised, patting her on the shoulder, before resting a hand on the glass of Amber's pod for a moment, and began to walk back towards the elevator. "We certainly need all the help we can get."

The others turned to follow, leaving Pyrrha to take one more look at the wounded Maiden, and with a heavy heart, turned to join her peers.

λΛλ

The brethren re-entered Ozpin's office, accompanied by their possible new Fall Maiden, who hadn't said a word the entire journey back. The Beacon Huntmaster returned to his seat behind the large desk that sat in the centre of the office, appearing to fall into his chair more heavily than usual. His eyes rested on the distressed redhead, and felt shame and guilt surge in his chest.

"Will you be alright, Miss Nikos?" he asked genuinely.

Pyrrha looked up at him with troubled eyes, but did her best to remain composed.

"As much as I can be, given what I have just learned" she replied honestly.

"It's overwhelming" admitted Winter, standing next to her with a small sympathetic smile. "When I was asked to join the Order two years ago, I honestly believed the General had succumbed to battle fatigue, and was rambling about nonsense. In time, nothing will faze you."

"If she agrees that is" Qrow added, folding his arms. "And even then, newbie, there's still a lot of shit to see."

"I think we've given Miss Nikos enough to think about for now, my friends" Ironwood offered, holding his hands behind his back. "I'd suggest that you take the day off to reflect on the situation at hand."

"Indeed. You should avoid spectating the second half of the Teams Round, and let your teammates handle the scouting" continued Ozpin, wanting to give Pyrrha as much room to breathe as possible.

"I...will consider it" Pyrrha answered slowly. "What am I supposed to tell my teammates?"

"Nothing that we have discussed."

"Huntmaster!"

"You will carry on as if nothing has changed; as if you never set foot in my office this morning. If we cannot ask for you to join us immediately, then we must ask you to take an oath of secrecy."

"I...I can't do that to my friends!" she argued before adding more quietly "to Jaune..."

"I understand, truly I do" the silver-haired Huntsman expressed sympathetically, "but we cannot reveal the secrets of the Order to the world any more than we have; not yet."

"But I cannot keep secrets from the people I trust most."

"For the sake of Albion and the Kingdom of Vale, I implore that you must. They will learn the truth in time, and if the Gods are with us, you will not have to make the final decision on your own. However, for now, you must walk this path alone."

Pyrrha looked down at her feet, completely at a loss. She was not a person that enjoyed hate, and thus there were very few things that she could say she truly hated: traitors, liars, and cowards. She strived to be as loyal as possible, as honest as possible, and as brave as possible. And now, she was being asked to lie to the people she loved. It was as if a war was going on inside her, all her convictions and morals against what many would refer to as the "Greater Good". She nearly laughed, for as a student of history, she knew how often the "Greater Good" had been invoked to commit great evil. And yet, great evil was now approaching, and she had a legitimate opportunity to fight against it in the names of the Gods. She tried to focus on that fact, and the duty she was demanded to fulfill, but Jaune's face materialized in her mind, and her heart ached.

She loved him, oh how she loved him dearly. She was ready and willing to do anything to protect him, but did that include lying to him? Was this the manifestation of the phrase "Love is the death of duty"? Her mind rested on "Death", which caused her to shudder, as imagining anything nearing that occurring to Jaune, filled her with dread.

"I have one question, Huntmaster" she said at last. "You keep referring to our enemies and the forces of Darkness. Evil always has a face and a name. So please tell me, who are our enemies?"

Ozpin paused for a moment, examining Pyrrha's eyes and facial expression, for he now knew they were both playing on the same board.

"You have already met them" he admitted slowly. "Roman Torchwick and the White Fang."

"You speak of fighting Darkness in the names of the Gods, which I myself have sworn an oath to, thus I answer to a higher power than the laws of mortal men" the redhead spoke in sobering seriousness. "So tell me, Huntmaster, who do _they_ answer to?"

The two stared into each other's eyes with steely glares, as if they were fighting for control of the conversation.

"I'm sorry, Miss Nikos, but that is not information I can disclose until you swear to join our cause and Order in full."

Pyrrha paused for a moment before sighing, fearing that would be his response.

"I understand. Will that be all, Huntmaster?"

"No" he replied. "There is one final pressing issue that I would like your opinion on." He tapped a key on the touch screen keyboard on his desk, activating the holoscreen above him, and revealed the portraits of Team CLME. Pyrrha's heart fell into her stomach.

"Do–"

"You have no idea who they are either" she breathed is dismay.

The adults present all tensed, more that she had been suspicious of Cinder and her associates than confirming what they already knew, for that was the very reason they had decided to ask her.

"You've noticed?" Ozpin asked carefully.

"Of course! They supposedly are from Mistral, but I've never seen them before. No one has seen them before. I tried to speak to them after their victory yesterday, but I lost track of them. I was about to go to the Mistral lodgings this morning to ask them directly."

"No" Ironwood warned. "Do not engage them under any circumstances. We will deal with them when the time comes."

"But if you are aware they are the enemy, then why haven't you arrested them?"

"It's no use, Miss Nikos" Glynda sighed, understanding her student's frustration. "I share your concerns, but I have been completely outvoted by the others. We have no choice but to wait for the opportune moment."

Pyrrha's eyes darted from each adult in distress.

"I _have_ to tell the others" she said.

"No" ordered Ozpin strongly. "You will do as we agreed; you will carry on as if nothing has changed and we never had this lengthy conversation."

"Huntmaster, Team RWBY still believes them to be their friends, and asking me to pretend they are, will give all my friends a false sense of security; trusting Team CLME. You are putting my friends and the civilians of this city in jeopardy by letting them walk free!"

"Miss Pyrrha Nikos" Ozpin said in a very strong voice, almost at the cusp of shouting as he rose to his feet, towering over her. "I know that I have asked more than any teacher should ever ask of a student, but I demand that you will remain completely silent on the matter, and not speak a word to either Jaune Arc or any of your friends or family. We have placed our faith in you, so I implore–no" he bowed deeply "I _beg_ of you, please place your faith in us."

Pyrrha was utterly shocked by the Huntmaster's humility. For him to prostrate like this before her, meant just how severe the situation truly was, and how much he and his Order were in dire need of her help. How many sacrifices they must have made to accommodate her, putting themselves in jeopardy in the process? For two decades they had been trying to protect the innocent, and now being forced into an incredibly vulnerable state, had to extend a hand in desperation for her help. They were all on the same side, and they were just as unsettled and worried for the safety of the innocent as she was. Swallowing her fear, she returned the bow.

"...I shall" she surrendered quietly. "What do I tell the others, for without question they will want answers for our meeting, and me claiming Team CLME are legitimate?"

"You say that you were wrong, and they are indeed Huntsmen-in-training from Mistral. Say that they were granted special permission, and our meeting was just to congratulate you and the rest of Team JNPR" Ozpin instructed with a small but deeply grateful smile. "Thank you, Miss Nikos. We are indebted to you. We will contact you if the situation changes. And again, we wish you continued success in the tournament."

Pyrrha nodded silently, and bowed respectfully to the other members of the Maiden's Ring. Before leaving the office, she looked once more to the holoscreen, and her eyes rested on Cinder.

"She's the one that assaulted Amber, isn't she?" she stated more than asked.

"I've got shit luck, so I don't gamble on anything, as a rule" Qrow answered, glaring at Cinder's portrait. "But if I had to bet what little I've got...yeah, she's the one."

Pyrrha bore her eyes into the false-Maiden's malicious orbs that she had suspected from the beginning revealed who she truly was.

"How much time do we have until they attack or Miss Calico's health fails?"

"We are nearing completion in regards to our defensive strategy" replied Ironwood, "though our enemies will be the ones to make the first move. As for Amber...that is up to her. She's stable for now, but we must be ready for everything and anything."

After a moment of pause, Pyrrha silently nodded, and at last turned to leave the office. As soon as the door closed behind her, Ozpin collapsed into his chair.

"Gods forgive us" he sighed in exhaustion.

Ironwood rested a hand on his friend's shoulder in comfort.

"You've done everything you could, Sam. She'll be an incredible Maiden, if the worst should come. Her strength is the most impressive I've seen in years, even amongst my students. She'll pull her weight just as we will pull ours."

Ozpin removed his glasses and held them in one hand as he rubbed the bridge of his nose with his left thumb and index finger.

"I can only pray so."

λΛλ

Jaune stared at his Scroll in frustration. He had been sending texts regularly to Pyrrha, had even called her several times over, but had yet to hear back from her. She had claimed that she wouldn't take long. And yet, he and the rest of their team, along with their friends, were seated once again in the reserved rows of the Coliseum stands.

'What's going on, Pyrrha?' he asked, gazing at the long string of unread texts and missed calls.

"She hasn't responded?" asked Ren, though he already knew the answer.

The blond closed his Scroll in annoyance and placed it back into his pocket.

"No. What the Hell is taking her so long? She said she would let us know when she was done before going to talk with Team CLME, but the damn tournament is about to start and she isn't back."

"I'm sure she's alright, Jaune. She would never rush into a situation without thinking things through" Ren reassured his captain. "Give her a bit more time."

The swordsman sighed and folded his arms. "Yeah, I know" he muttered, unable to shake the anxiety that had been gripping his heart since she left the dining hall.

"Hey, there's Cinder and her teammates" announced Ruby, pointing to the opposite side of the Coliseum. Everyone's eyes snapped to where she was pointing, and saw that all four were now seating themselves to watch the remainder of the Teams Round.

"What does that mean?" asked Yang.

"It could be that Pyrrha spoke with them and everything is fine" offered Weiss, though not entirely sure she believed what she was saying.

"Or things went south and she was beaten by them..." Blake added, cautiously.

"No way! Pyrrha would never lose!" defended Nora, not able to imagine her friend being defeated by anyone.

"Your confidence in me is always appreciated" said a familiar voice, causing the group to look to their right and see the Mistralese standing before them.

"Pyrrha!" they cried in shock, with Jaune quickly rising to his feet to face her.

"Are you OK?" he asked intensely, unable to hide his worry for her wellbeing, and gripped her shoulders both gently and strongly.

"I'm fine. I just got caught up with a number of things" she replied smiling. "I'm sorry, I saw how late in the morning it was, so I chose to rush back instead of texting."

"Did you talk to Team CLME?"

"Yes, I did."

"And?"

Pyrrha kept her smile. "I was mistaken. They are legitimate students of Haven, and were allowed to enter the tournament with special permission from Huntmaster Lionheart. Everything is alright" she explained.

There was a mixture of relief and hesitation amongst the group, as the time they had to think and discuss on the matter, had led them to be more certain that Cinder and her team were impersonators. However, hearing Pyrrha herself, who had been the most suspicious of them all admit she was wrong, was certainly reassuringly. But not to all. Jaune continued to gaze upon his lieutenant, having a great deal of trouble believing her, something that he himself thought to be impossible, as he always had complete faith in her judgement. Blake was also hesitant to accept Pyrrha's words on their face, as she too had become convinced that she had encountered Cinder and her associates before coming to Beacon. Therefore, why was Pyrrha now saying that everything had been a misunderstanding?

"Well, at least that's be taken care of" said Ruby "Now we can all enjoy the tournament together without being worried." 

"Actually, I think I will sit out for today" interjected Pyrrha politely, which sent up red flags for Jaune.

"Why? What's wrong?" he asked quickly.

"I just feel a little under the weather" she said casually. "Nothing serious that would take me out of the tournament of course, but I think that I will take the day for myself."

Jaune's worry began to grow, as he knew something was off.

"Does this have something to do with whatever Huntmaster Ozpin called to talk about? What was that even?"

"No, it's unrelated" she lied. "The Huntmaster just wanted to congratulate us on our first victory, along with General Ironwood. It was nothing serious."

The blond swordsman wasn't convinced, and he cupped her left cheek, gazing into her eyes with concern; not as a captain, but as a lover.

"Please, Pyrrha, is everything OK?" he asked softly, his eyes and voice leaving nothing to the imagination.

Pyrrha instantly felt her heart lodge itself in her throat. She never wanted to lie to him, and the fact that she now had to after how far they'd come in their relationship, made her heart ache. How badly she wanted to tell him the truth, to ask for his advice, and feel that she didn't have to bear this burden alone. She just wanted to be in his arms and feel safe within them. She could feel her will crumbling, knowing she was just mere inches away from getting exactly what she wanted. But then, she saw the scarred face of Amber in her mind. She was lying in a coma beneath the academy, fighting for her life after facing the agents of whatever dark forces were trying to destroy the Kingdom. Now, it might be up to Pyrrha to determine whether the Fall Maiden's sacrifice could be in vain. Pyrrha began to feel her stomach twist in guilt, knowing just how selfish she was being. If she couldn't be strong and delay her gratification for the sake of protecting innocent life, then she shouldn't even be trying to be a Huntress.

"Yes, everything is fine" she managed. "I'll see you tonight. I promise."

Without allowing herself a chance to break the facade, she kissed Jaune on the cheek, and left him with the others. Jaune watched her leave, once again feeling the desperate need to chase after her, but he knew that he needed to respect her wishes. Nevertheless, as he sat back down with his friends, he and Blake thought the same disconcerting notion.

'She's lying.' 

λΛλ

Pyrrha walked the near deserted streets of Albion aimlessly, not sure what to think or what to feel. She knew that she had done the right thing, protecting Jaune and her friends from the dangers of Amber's attackers, and keeping the oath she had sworn to the Maiden's Ring that she would not reveal their existence. And yet, she couldn't stop herself from feeling she had going against her own principles, and betrayed her friends in the process. It was impossible to explain what she was feeling in words; her emotions being too turbulent to decipher. However, the closest comparison she could make was that it felt as if her entire world had been thrown into the sky, and she had no idea when it would come back down, whilst fearing it would smash into a million pieces. If she ever needed something or someone to guide her, it was now.

Then from the corner of her right eye, she saw an all too familiar building. It was a beautiful temple with a stylobate base leading to eight columns ordained with red and white banners, and a symbol of a bursting star encircled with a laurel wreath embossed in stone above the oak double doors. The entablature above the columns was equally beautiful, with the constellations carved into the frieze, set with Dust crystals. It was the head temple of the Valian chapter of her faith, a place of worship that she had visited many times since her arrival at Beacon. The academy had a temple of their own on campus with both Paladinist and Starseeker holy men, and while she did visit it, she tended to prefer this one. She hadn't planned on walking to the temple, but now more than ever did she need its comfort.

She slowly walked to the doors, and with more strength than she normally required, pushed one open, and entered the hallowed halls of the temple. It was truly a beautiful place, filled with tapestries, sculptures of the Gods, and Dust infused stained glass windows. They were carefully crafted to always capture the light, whether it be from the Sun or the Moon, and flood the temple with radiance. The wooden pews had holy symbols carved into them, leading towards a large stone altar, draped with a red cloth. Standing before the altar was an elderly man in worn brown robes, probably in his sixties, carrying a basket filled with gardening tools. Despite his age, he heard Pyrrha enter the temple, and turned to greet her. He had thinning white hair, and a respectable amount of wrinkles that only grew in number when he recognized her; her presence causing his pale blue eyes to nearly vanish as he smiled.

"Pyrrha my dear child, how wonderful to see you again. Congratulations on your team's first victory. My brothers and I enjoyed watching it. May you have many more" he said warmly.

"Thank you, Presbyteros Alesandro" she said bowing. "I pray we will win the tournament."

"Oh I am sure you will. Especially with" he reached over and pinched her cheek playfully "that handsome young man of yours. How beautiful young love is when it blooms in spring." His words and actions brought about a genuine smile to Pyrrha's face, and she couldn't suppress a sheepish laugh from escaping her lips. Before she could say anything, the holy man's smile turned mischievous. "Have you come to discuss the arrangement of your marriage?"

The redhead's face blossomed into a strong blush, not expecting him to propose such a thing.

"Th-Thank you, Presbyteros, but I think that is a bit too soon for us" she stuttered, having trouble maintaining eye contact.

"So you say, but even through the television, I and my brothers could see how deeply in love the both of you are. Why put it off any longer?"

Though embarrassed, she smiled warmly at the elder's honesty.

"Again, thank you, but I think it would be better if Jaune were to meet my mother and I meet his family, before we elope. Also, Jaune is a Paladinist."

"If you tell them it would not be eloping" Alesandro reasoned, "and that was most obvious with him being Valian and bearing the sigil of the Lancer on his armour. Our faiths have never been at odds, so I am sure we can come to an agreement. Nevertheless, when you do decide to tie the knot, you come straight to my Naós, you understand?"

"We would have to consult with our families first, as his is much larger than mine, though most likely we would marry in Mistral given my family's connection to the High Naós at the capital."

"If I must fly to the High Temple of Astrofengiá (Starlight) to marry you two, then I shall" he said defiantly. "If I cannot fly, then I shall ride to the coast and board a ship. If I cannot sail, then I shall swim!"

The holy man's enthusiasm caused Pyrrha to laugh, never seeing him so animated before.

"Presbyteros! You don't have to go to such lengths!"

Alesandro smiled from ear to ear, and took her hand gently.

"For our Champion of Light, I would do it all. Now tell me, child, what brings you to the temple when the tournament must surely have begun?"

Pyrrha was touched by the old man's words, and wanted to speak to him honestly, as a holy man of her faith would surely be able to offer her the advice and guidance she desperately needed. But once again, she knew that could not tell him the truth. To involve anyone else in her struggle was a cowardly thing to do, and she would not misinterpret her stumbling to the temple as a sign from the Gods to begin breaking her oath of secrecy. She instead decided to take it as a sign to reflect.

"I...needed to take some time alone and to pray" she said slowly. "I've had a lot on my mind as of late, and I feel the need to reflect and calm myself."

"Of course, my dear. Please, stay for as long as you'd like. If you need me, I shall be with my brothers tending to the green houses. Máio to Fos tou Vóreiou Astéra fotízei tin poreía sas (May the Light of the Northern Star illuminate your path)" he blessed, touching her forehead before walking to a door towards the back of the temple, and leaving Pyrrha alone before the altar.

The champion's smile began to fade as the temple become deathly silent. She looked above the altar where a stone carving of the same Star symbol that was in front of the temple, was placed upon a marble pillar, surrounded by eight statues of the chief Gods and Goddesses of her faith. She knelt before them, and retrieved a small golden pendant of that symbol from a secret pocket within her plackart. She held it by its chain with her hands in prayer, but then pressed them against her chest as if to hold herself, as tears began to slide down her cheeks.

'Patéras... (Father)...'

λΛλ

"Thank you, please keep me posted with any and all updates. Over and out" said Ironwood into the mouthpiece of a radio device, before dropping the headset he was listening in to, and forcibly returned the mouthpiece to the receiver. "Damn it!"

"I don't wish to know, but I must ask" sighed Ozpin, looking across his desk at his fellow Huntmaster.

"Our informant just contacted us and said that Taurus and his forces have relocated to a new position, and he needs more time to pin their location and the exact number of their forces" Ironwood reiterated. "Which means I need to know _where_ they've repositioned to, because I _can't_ just have my men running around the city like chickens with their heads cut off."

The silver-haired Huntmaster sighed again. "If it isn't one thing, it's another."

"We need more time, Oz" added Qrow, examining the contents of a square leather pouch.

"If you have any suggestions, you _can_ suggest them, rather than complain as per usual" Winter commented crossly.

"Easy, Ice Queen" the sombre Huntsman warned testily. "I know _exactly_ what my job is, Jimmy knows what his job is, and Oz knows what _his_ job is. And since _he's_ the leader of this motley crew, _he's_ got to lead and pull the trigger when it needs pulling."

"And what would you have me do?" asked Ozpin in a receptive tone, rather than a condescending one.

Qrow looked up at his old friend and spoke as bluntly as he always had.

"You need to make some magic and pull a rabbit out of your hat, cuz if we don't lock down the White Fang's forces, we're potentially looking at a repeat of what happened in Mantle, but even worse."

Ozpin gazed back at his brethren over the rims of his spectacles for several moments, contemplating what he had just said. He once again rested his lips against his index fingers with the rest interlaced, pondering with his eyes closed in the silence that came from the heavy ultimatum Qrow had uttered. After a full minute of quietness, he opened his eyes.

"I believe that I might have the magic you are looking for" he said at last. "Although, more than _one_ rabbit will be needed, and I will need your help to gather them in time."

Qrow couldn't suppress a smirk, understanding his friend's implication well.

"If I'm good at anything, it's chasing tail. Lay it on me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now, the stage is set.
> 
> While it was only on later rewatches that I began to see the major rot with V3, on the first watch, it was this episode that made me realize something was wrong. This was the beginning of the end, at least when I thought back on it at the end of V3; though as I've said previously, I now see that V3 as a whole is awful.
> 
> Also, I assume that most people are now aware that the Maidens were a last minute addition to the story, where the vaults and the artefacts were supposed to be the focus. When the Maidens came up, they were meant to REPLACE the artefacts. And yet, we have both.
> 
> I've spent a lot of time over the years trying to come up with a better idea, and frankly, it wasn't hard to do. The same goes with Ozpin's inner circle, which seemed so disorganized on their introduction, that I assumed they WERE newly formed. Learning otherwise, showed just how incompetent they were, and still are. Thus, the Order of the Maiden's Ring was born; a more compassionate and competent Order.
> 
> And lastly, the changing of personality and the right of self of Pyrrha. Not only was it for pointless drama, as the other Maidens are fine, but how manipulative of Pyrrha it was, was flat out disgusting. It's why I don't see a difference between Ozma and Salem, as both are puppeteers, using the young, the broken, and the goodhearted, for their own means.
> 
> Anyways, I wasn't kidding about world-building and rewriting the canon. And this is just the tip of the spear. See you all next time.


	8. Duty and Honour

The third day of the tournament had broken, and the capital was already bustling with life. Within the campus of Beacon, the students were in a fervour, both those spectating and those competing. They made certain that they had submitted to the tournament board who would be competing in the Doubles Round before the deadline, and were now going over their gear in preparation for their matches. Given that Team RWBY had the larger dorm room, both they and Team JNPR had gathered there to inspect their weapons. Yang and Weiss were making sure that Ember Celica and Myrtenaster were indexing correctly, as was Nora with Magnhild, who was now inspecting an assortment of 40mm rounds. Pyrrha was examining the sharpness of Miló, however, she was already quite certain it was in perfect condition, and was checking out of habit. The others were talking amongst themselves, though once again, Blake and Jaune were keeping an eye on Pyrrha.

  
Both were quite certain that she was lying about Team CLME, but they couldn't for the life of them understand why. The only probable explanation was that it had something to do with whatever she and Ozpin had spoken about. This did give them some hope that he was aware of the situation and was handling it, thus there was no need for them to take matters into their own hands. While they still wanted to know the finer details, part of them argued to respect Pyrrha's privacy, as they still had secrets of their own they had yet to reveal.

'I guess it's fair, I still haven't told her everything' he thought as he watched her examine Akoúo's straps. 'But I just wish she would tell me what's really bothering her. I hate seeing her like this.'

As Nora began to load all her extra grenade rounds into a multilayered bandolier, Ruby couldn't help but comment.

"Are you gonna be able to fight with that on your waist?" she asked.

"Oh I'll be fine. It's not that heavy" reassured the ginger.

"That might be too many though."

Nora gave the sniper a rather smug smirk.

"If you think that you can have too many bombs, then you don't understand the concept of bombs" she explained.

"True, though you should diversify your ammunition" advised Weiss, noticing they were all the same. "The nature of your weapon has more versatility than mere bombardment."

"Yeah I know, but it's too late now" Nora acknowledged with a pout. "Maybe I'll look into it after the tournament."

"I wouldn't mind going over it with you, if you'd like" the heiress offered.

"Really? Awwwww, thank you!" beamed the hammeress. "I've got some cool ideas for Magnhild, like firing all six shots when I hit something in hammer form for a super finishing move."

Weiss thought for a moment.

"That would probably need an entire firing mechanism overhaul" she pondered, with Ruby nodding in agreement. "Then there is the need to find a way to expose all six chambers for simultaneous discharge without damaging them when you strike targets, along with strengthening Magnhild itself to withstand the gas pressure of firing six rounds at once. I'll need some time to come up with something."

Without warning, Nora pulled Weiss into a tight hug.

"Thank yoooou~!" she expressed with joy, and while the young thunderess wasn't aware of her strength with the hug, the heiress couldn't suppress a humble smile.

"You're welcome. At least for new ammunition we can cover that in a day, so hopefully it will tie you over until I can come up with a plausible upgrade."

"I owe you, Weiss!"

"So..." began Blake, turning the attention of the room to herself, "not to be a stick in the mud by pointing out the Goliath in the room, but what are we going to do if we fight each other today?"

Indeed the thought had been on all their minds for a while now. It was inevitable that as the tournament progressed, the chances of Team RWBY and JNPR fighting one another rose dramatically. While Pyrrha's initial tease before the start of the tournament got them all excited to compete, and the tournament was just a more intense sparing session between friends, there was still some reservation of fighting against allies. Blake wasn't entirely sure if the others felt the same, but she was becoming incredibly found of them all, and after what had happened during her past, it was a bit unsettling for her.

"I can't wait" stated Yang confidently. "If we don't fight against each other today, you better not lose, cuz I want that one on one, Nikos. And if we do fight, I still want that one on one, so don't interfere, Nora!"

"I agree to these terms" Pyrrha concurred with a small smile. "Will you promise to give us a wide birth, Nora?"

The ginger looked between the blonde and the redhead slowly, before lowering her head submissively.

"OK..."

"OK what?"

"...OK I won't get in the way of your fight."

"Good Nora" said the blonde, rubbing her head approvingly. "At least _someone_ on your team can do as they're told."

This caused Pyrrha to blink, slightly taken aback. "I'm sorry?"

Yang reached for her Scroll and began to sift through some application.

"I was going to bring this up yesterday, but given all that happened it slipped my mind" she explained, before finally finding what she was looking for, and held up her Scroll so Pyrrha could see.

It was yet another article about Jaune and Pyrrha, this time titled " _MORE SERIOUS THEN WE THOUGHT?_ " Below the title were two photos; one on the left of Team JNPR walking into the arena, and a second which was a blow up of the first, cropped and zoomed to show the couple holding hands. When the blond and redhead realized this, their cheeks began to burn.

"O-Oh" gasped Pyrrha, slightly embarrassed. "I-I didn't realize we were still holding hands..."

"Y-Yeah..." admitted Jaune, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. Nora and Ren looked at their flustered friends with smirks on their faces, fully entertained by their romance, as well as their shyness. Yang on the other hand, wasn't so amused.

"I told you not give them any more ammunition!" she scolded.

"We forgot. It's not the end of the world" defended Jaune. "Plus it's just hand holding."

"It might as well have been a juicy steak to these vultures; if you guys want to keep them out of your relationship, then don't bait them."

"I've already told a reporter personally to shove it" the young Knight added.

"Like that'll work for long."

"I know" Jaune sighed, "but at the same time, it's not like we'll keep it a secret forever. I _don't_ _want_ to keep it a secret. It makes it seem like I'm ashamed of our relationship, when I could never be prouder. So I'm not apologizing for anything."

His words carried more weight than he realized, earning him grins of approval from his teammates, as well as from Team RWBY, though Yang knew the fervour of the press was only just getting started. Pyrrha, obviously being the most touched by them, leaned against his legs and looked up at him, smiling sweetly.

"I'm proud of you too" she said softly, meaning every word from the bottom of her heart and soul.

Jaune looked down and once again returned the smile, as he felt her love in both her words and her face. He could tell right away that she was truly smiling this time, unlike yesterday where he could see that her smile stopped before her eyes. Now, he saw her honesty shinning through, and it showed just how beautiful she truly was.

"Ok, I have to ask" groaned Yang rubbing her temples. "Have you two _actually_ made out yet, or are you still beating around the bush with pecks on the cheek?"

The question snapped the couple out from their amorous gaze, and caused them to blush.

"N-No, we haven't yet" admitted Jaune.

"Are you serious? What the Hell are you waiting for?"

"To go on our date after the tournament wraps up."

"Oh who cares at this point?" the shorter blonde asked, which she did have an argument for, as it was clear to all that the couple in question were in love and together. "At least you can enjoy yourselves while the papers scramble."

The swordsman cleared his throat and looked at his thrill-seeking friend with serious but tranquil eyes.

"Pyrrha and I take relationships seriously, so we want to do this right. We also take being Huntsmen seriously, so we're not letting our feelings get in the way of the tournament. If we can't wait a few more days, then I doubt we'll be able to date for long given that lack of patience" he explained, earning nods from his teammates, as well as Weiss, who saw relationships the same way.

"Yeah you've said that before and I get it; I just expected you two to be balls deep at this point" Yang shrugged. "I've never seen two people so in love."

Jaune and Pyrrha's collected composure was instantly broken by the elder Xiao Long's bluntness, and their faces became beet red as a result. Once again, it was nice to hear that the strength of their relationship was clearly visible, and interpreted correctly as true love. Nevertheless, it was still rather embarrassing to hear from Yang that she assumed they were sexually active; a thought that wasn't so singularly held, as it turned out.

"C-Could you not speak of such things, p-please?" asked Pyrrha, stuttering in embarrassment. "I cannot handle both you and your uncle posing such questions."

"What?" Yang and Ruby asked in unison, not expecting such news.

"When I went to Huntmaster Ozpin's office yesterday, he was there" the Mistralese explained. "During the conversation, Mr. Branwen found it necessary to ask if Jaune and I h-had...um...r-reached _that_ level in our relationship."

Upon hear this, Yang did her best to hold back her laugher, whereas her younger sister's face instantly scrunched as if she had licked a lemon. Weiss added to her captain's disapproval with a look of disgust on her face.

"That man is truly abhorrent" the heiress commented sourly. "First belittling and attacking my sister, now asking incredibly inappropriate questions about the personal lives of students. Who is he exactly, and what does he do?"

"Hey! That's our uncle you're badmouthing!" defended Yang, slapping the back of her hand across Weiss' shoulder. "And he taught at Signal."

This made Weiss go wide-eyed in horror.

"He's an _educator_?!" she cried, completely shocked by the revelation.

"Well he _was_. He retired and hunts fulltime now."

The Atlassian Huntress-in-training breathed a sigh of relief, but wasn't entirely soothed with the clarification.

"This explains _so_ much about your behaviour and humour" she remarked.

"For the record, I get my dirty jokes from Uncle Qrow, and I get my puns from my dad" established the blonde. "Uncle Qrow _hates_ puns."

"Oh, so he does have some redeeming qualities." 

"As sombre and tactless as he appears to be, he seems to be a good person deep down" offered Pyrrha, recalling his actions towards Amber, though she made sure to step clear of revealing anything about Qrow's involvement with the Order. Yang nodded appreciatively as Ruby held her hands up apologetically, as if in prayer.

"Sorry" she said half whispering, which Pyrrha smiled back understandingly, knowing full well neither she nor her sister had to excuse their uncle's behaviour.

"Well, you two have the patience of saints so, good for you, I guess" finished Yang, before jabbing her thumb in the direction of her teammates. "Then again, these two are just as patient; for _some_ reason."

Both Weiss and Blake blushed at her provocation, though they were accustomed to it and countered in turn.

"I have the same perspective as Jaune and Pyrrha in regards to relationships" the heiress stated poignantly. "And things are progress rather nicely between Neptune and I, thank you very much."

"You finally stuck your tongue down his throat?"

Weiss flinched as Nora snorted in amusement.

"I kissed him on the cheek" she shot back.

"OoooOOooo" Yang awed exaggeratingly, fluttering her fingers. "You girls know that boys have lips too, right?"

"And when _you_ get a boyfriend, I'm sure you will show us how it all works" Weiss retorted calmly, as she loaded the last of Myrtenaster's chambers before locking the rapier. The room was quickly filled with snickers as Yang leaned forward and glared at her white-haired teammate.

"Watch it, princess" the elder Xiao Long warned, pointing at Weiss. "You and I are fighting together today. You're gonna want me watching your back, so don't get on my bad side." She then looked over to Blake, who immediately tensed as she knew that Yang was going to turn it up several notches. "And what base have you gotten to, or are you still on the bench?"

The Cat Faunus relaxed, glad that her friend hadn't gone the vulgar route. Nevertheless, she gave a passive response, not wanting to speak openly about her personal life just yet.

"I'll share when something major happens" she said slowly.

Yang threw her head back in annoyance.

"Why do I even bother asking? I should just go straight to Sun and ask him!"

"Ask me what?" came a voice, causing the Beaconites to turn their heads to the windowsill to Jaune's right, and saw the Faunus in question hanging off the edge with his arms folded and his chin resting on them. To his right was Neptune doing the same, giving the others a small wave and a knowing nod to Weiss, who blushed.

"What base are you and Blake on?" Yang asked eagerly, before the raven-haired Huntress-in-training could stop her.

Sun examined Blake, and was very much amused by how flustered she was.

"I'm sure she'll tell ya when she's ready" he said at last, causing Blake to sigh in relief, and Yang to glare in annoyance. "Speaking of which, are you guys ready for today?"

"Yes, I believe we are" replied Pyrrha with a polite smile.

"Mind if we ask who's competing in the Doubles?" asked Neptune. "The teams are locked so there's no point in hiding it now."

"Pyrrha and Nora will be teaming up for this round" Jaune answered.

"That's the most obvious thing in the world" grinned Sun. "What about you ladies?"

"Yang and Weiss" announced Ruby, confident in her choice and their chances of victory. Unfortunately, this caused Neptune's smile to vanish, and his eyes rested on the Schnee heiress, causing her to realize what was going on. Blake also registered what had occurred, and felt both sympathy and worry for her friends.

"You and Sun are going forward to the Doubles, aren't you?" she stated more than asked.

"Uh oh" added Nora, looking between the white-haired girl and the blue-haired boy.

Everyone else in the dorm was now up to speed, and began to share in Blake's sympathy. They all understood the reservations of fighting against friends, especially given they had grown closer since entering Beacon, and continued to do so with each passing day. However, what none of them had yet to experience, was fighting against a lover. Team JNPR had spared constantly of course, but there was a world of difference between a training spar and a serious fight. Jaune and Ren never wanted to harm Pyrrha and Nora, just as much as the girls never wanted to hurt them; their stomachs twisting from just the thought alone. None of them could describe the level of anxiety from being in such a situation, so all they could do was hope Team RWBY and SSSN did not face one another today.

"Shit, I'm sorry, dude" apologized Sun honestly, looking over to his friend with a very concerned expression on his face. "If we have to fight them today, I'll take on Weiss and you fight Yang."

"That doesn't make things any better" pointed out Neptune, not bothering to hide his unhappiness with the possible outcome.

"I know, just _please_ don't forfeit the match if it happens, OK?"

The blue-haired Huntsman-in-training remained quiet as he looked back at Weiss, and saw his own emotions being reflected back at him.

"Dude, promise me" repeated the Monkey Faunus.

"Would you be saying the same if we were going up against Blake?" he asked.

Sun paused for a moment, and after taking one look at his fellow Faunus, his expression softened.

"Yeah, I'd fold too" he admitted with a sigh. The others nodded silently, all knowing they would do the same if they were in Neptune's shoes.

But it was Blake herself that felt the weight of Sun's words the most, as they caused her heart to jump into her throat. For someone like him who loved to fight and compete, to so quickly throw in the towel to avoid hurting her, touched her in more ways than she was willing to admit; even to herself. Never before had there been someone in her life, other than her father, who'd be so inclined to do so, and it was a very alien experience; one that she would ponder on for days to come.

Sun then sighed loudly and looked up to the sky. "We chose a good time to find some amazing girls, didn't we?"

"Yup" agreed Neptune.

"Could have been better timed, yeah" added Jaune, glancing down at the redhead.

"Why, what's your problem? She's on your team" Sun pointed out, confused.

"Yeah, and I wish I had noticed her feelings sooner" the other blond replied. "Then I would have saved myself some time, and allowed me to spend more of it with the most incredible girl in the world."

"I thought you said not to use pick-up lines?" reminded the former fisherman.

Jaune shrugged sheepishly. "It's not wrong if it's the truth" he pointed out. "Plus, is it still a pick-up line if we agreed to go out?"

The Vacuan lieutenant smirked at Jaune, and nodded silently in approval, along with a grin from the Monkey Faunus beside him. Jaune then felt Pyrrha lean even harder against his legs, and he knew that even if she was no longer looking up at him, she was smiling.

"Pushing the overly romantic crap to the side" muttered Yang, her annoyance knowing no bounds, "if we do fight, I won't hold back, so neither should you. I want to fight Pyrrha anyways, so either you put up a decent fight or get out of the way."

Weiss looked over to her teammate with disapproving eyes.

"How am _I_ the Ice Queen again?" she asked.

"It's a tournament, not a mixer!" argued the blonde hotly, holding out her hands to emphasize her point. She was right of course, but given that she had never been in a relationship before, she was a tad inept on what exactly her friends were feeling. "Whatever, I'm gonna go for a ride on Inferno until the tournament starts. I'll see you guys there."

Fixing Ember Celica to her arms, she rose to her feet and left the dorm, leaving her friends to their own devices.

"...She means well" offered Ruby. "My sister's just very competitive."

"I could tell" added Sun. "So what are you guys gonna do until the fights start? We still got a couple hours."

"Enjoy the tranquility I guess" pondered Blake.

"I think Nora and I will go over our battle plans" suggested Pyrrha.

"Again?" the ginger asked in shock.

"It couldn't hurt."

Nora groaned, earning a nudge from Ren.

"You've done very well so far" he complimented honestly. "Think of this as just extra polish."

"Mmmmmmm...OK..." the hammeress caved, drooping her head forward. The rest of Team JNPR chuckled at her, and decided to head back to their dorms across the hall to review their plans in private, leaving the remainder of Team RWBY with the captain and lieutenant of Team SSSN.

"Are you two gonna stay?" asked Ruby, turning to the window.

"Any time with Blake is great" answered Sun, causing the Cat Faunus to blush, "but I think it would be better to take this one for a walk and clear his head." He gestured at Neptune with his thumb as he said this, before saluting the girls. "We'll see you at the Coliseum. And whatever happens, no hard feelings right?"

Weiss looked once again at the blue-haired Vacuan, before surprising him with a small smile.

"I'll pay for our dinner when we go out after the tournament; my treat for winning" she said, her cheeks brushed pink.

Neptune's mouth opened slightly in a mute daze, before turning it into a confident grin.

"Alright, Snow Angel. I can live with that" he affirmed.

"Great! Thanks Schnee! See ya, beautiful. Let's go, dude!" cheered Sun, grabbing his friend by the back of the collar, and pulled him along as he jumped off the side of the dormitory building. 

Ruby snorted at the whole affair before looking to her lieutenant, who was now faring much better after learning she might have to fight her love interest.

"Pfft. Snow Angel" she echoed in amusement.

"I think it's cute" defended Weiss as she sheathed Myrtenaster. "You'll understand when you're older."

Ruby blew a raspberry at the heiress who ignored it, as she began to look for restaurants on her Scroll, joining Pyrrha in greatly looking forward to the end of the tournament. 

λΛλ

Huntmaster Ozpin was in his office, staring at his Scroll as it sat upon a short stack of books. Every so often he would look at the antique clock on his desk, reminding himself just how little time remained. The latch of the double doors clicked as Glynda entered the office, a worried expression on her face.

"It's time" she said softly as she approached him, trying her best to conceal her concern.

"I know" Ozpin answered, pocketing his Scroll before taking his cane and rising to his feet. The Great Horned owl that sat on its perch turned its head without shifting its body, and gave his master a quiet concerned hoot. The Huntmaster gently stroked the top of the raptor's head with two fingers to sooth him, though he knew it was meant to be the other way round.

"Has he not contacted us?" Glynda asked, though she was fairly certain she knew the answer.

"No, he has not."

The office returned to silence as Ozpin continued to stroke the owl for a few moments more.

"Perhaps we could dela–"

"No" he said strongly, glancing at her as he straightened himself. "We proceed."

The Huntmaster walked around the desk, joining his Deputy-Huntmistress to make their way to the Coliseum. The owl kept his eyes locked on his master, watching him open the door for Glynda, and maintained his watch till the door shut behind them. The raptor then hooted, almost nervously, and leapt off his perch, flying through one of the open windows above. 

λΛλ

"Good afternoon Albion City and all of you watching around the world!" Professor Port greeted, his voice booming throughout the arena. "And welcome to day three of the Vytal Festival Tournament! For those of you just joining us, though I must ask why in Remnant are you tuning in now, I am Professor Peter Port, and I hope you are ready for the Doubles Round! If you _are_ just joining us, allow my colleague and friend Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck, to get you up to speed."

"Why thank you, Peter!" said Oobleck, very pleased he was addressed by his proper title. "And yes, the past two days have been incredibly entertaining to say the least. We began this tournament with sixteen teams, four hailing from each Kingdom. Over the course of those two days, these teams went through the first round of the tournament, known as the Teams Round. The weak have been eliminated, leaving only eight teams to carry on: Teams RWBY, JNPR, CFVY, and CRDL of Beacon, Team SSSN of Shade, Team CLME of Haven, and Teams FNKI and PKTS (Pickets) of Ýdalir. However, unlike the previous bracket, they will not compete in teams of four, but as teams of two. That's why it's called the Doubles Round, you see."

"And if I didn't know any better, I'd say I was seeing double, as all four of our academy's teams have made it through the first bracket" commented Port with a smirk. "Poor Huntmaster Lionheart mustn't feel all too proud for saying we needed help winning, when only _one_ of his teams made it to the Doubles."

"I would say so, along with Huntmaster Blanco, however, the remaining teams of both Mistral and Vacuo have proven to be tough as nails, so I wouldn't count them out of the running just yet. So let's see just how much running today's combatants will be doing! Drum roll please!"

Half of the holoscreens flashed as the computer began to randomize through the entered teams, before landing on Teams CFVY and CLME, and revealing the photos of Coco, Yatsuhashi, Mercury, and Emerald. The crowd erupted into life, with the home spectators and Mistralese shouting loudest, restless and excited to see the match begin. In the reserved seating, Team CFVY grinned in anticipation, with their friends all eager to see them fight.

"And the first match of the day will be Coco Adel and Yatsuhashi Daichi of Team CFVY against Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai of Team CLME!" announced Port. "Both teams please make your way to the arena!"

"Wish us luck, kiddies!" Coco chirped getting to her feet, accompanied by Yatsuhashi.

"Kick ass out there" cheered Yang, fist-bumping the two upperclassmen as they walked past.

"Don't let up and be careful" added Pyrrha, keeping a serious but soft expression on her face.

Of course she meant that more than she was letting on. The moment Team CLME apparent on the screen, her stomach twisted into knots, recalling everything she had learned from Ozpin. She had secretly prayed that she and Nora could fight and defeat them before the start of the Singles Round. This would take them out of the tournament, and hopefully render them unable to continue with their plans to assassinate Amber. Her luck was not as strong as she'd wished, and all she could do now was hope that her seniors would either defeat Team CLME, or whatever plan the Order had up their sleeves, was ready to be put into action. It did give Pyrrha some comfort that Cinder would not be taking part in the rest of the tournament, though it did cause the Mistralese champion to dwell on what the half-Maiden would be doing in the meantime.

Above the arena in the private skybox, were Huntmasters Ozpin and Ironwood, seated in their chairs and appearing to enjoy the view.

"I take it Qrow hasn't touched base" stated the General, looking down at the floating ice cubes in his glass.

"Not yet" Ozpin replied, his Scroll sitting on the armrest of his chair. "Nothing on your end?"

"Negative" confirmed the Atlassian. "Neither the bird nor the beast have pinged anything, leaving us to sit on our hands."

"Patience is a virtue" Ozpin reminded him, though he wasn't exactly taking his own advice, knowing how little time remained.

"It certainly is, though I'd feel more at ease if I had even a basket to hold the eggs I'd need to miscount before they hatch."

"Then let us walk on eggshells for the time being and hope for the best."

In the arena, the combatants walked into the centre of the battle grounds and greeted each other, with Team CLME ready to play along.

"Hey! Love the outfit, kid!" complimented Coco, as she lowered her sunglasses to get a better look.

"I'll try not to get any blood on it" Emerald returned.

"I can't promise you'll leave without a scratch" offered Yatsuhashi, drawing Fulcrum, a bronze greatsword with a guthook at the end, and rested the blade on its point.

"I won't be the one bleeding" Emerald said calmly.

"Ooh, I like her!" Coco chimed, looking even more forward to the match.

Above them, the digital roulette was once again sifting through a list of terrains for the match. However, instead of two environments being selected, four appeared on the holoscreens. Once registered, the arena began to change shape, revealing what they were to both the audience and the combatants. One was a patch of tall grassy plains with a single tree in the centre, and some rocks amongst the blades. The second were the ruins of a city, complete with buildings holding shattered windows and rubble amongst the pavement. The third was a hot spring containing geyser spots along a small river, as well as some blue [Dust](https://rwby.fandom.com/wiki/Dust) crystal growths, with the fourth being a familiar section of dense forest.

"Fighters ready?" boomed Port. "Three...two...one...GO!"

Coco and Yatsuhashi readied themselves to either fend off an attack, or take advantage of an opportunity to assault their opponents. To their surprise, Mercury and Emerald backed away slowly into the tall grass, vanishing from view. The captain of Team CFVY was hardly amused by the false-Havenite's tactics, and swung Gianduja over her shoulder, transforming it into its minigun form, and began to open fire. Yatsuhashi readied himself to spring onto either of his opponents, expecting them to break from cover like spooked rabbits, but frowned when it became clear that they were no longer in that quarter biome. His sharp eyes scanned the terrain before him, pivoting slowly without weakening his stance. Suddenly his eyes darted above, and saw Mercury soaring in with a flying kick aimed for Coco, which Yatsuhashi parried with a powerful stroke of Fulcrum, knocking the kick-fighter back. Before he touched the ground, Coco began to spin the six barrels of her minigun, and then unleashed a hailstorm of 7.62mm bullets at her target. Impressively, Mercury pushed off the ground with one hand to avoid the gunfire, and peeled off, managing to stay ahead of the shots despite Coco's lead.

"He's fast" commented Sun, appreciating Mercury's acrobatics.

"Yeah, but where's the girl?" asked Scarlet, trying to spot her in the three remaining biomes, along with Neptune and Sage.

Mercury rushed in between the members of Team CFVY, and sent a kick at Coco while performing a backwards flip. Coco managed to block the attack with Gianduja's barrels, and dashed backwards to put distance between herself and her opponent, knowing her weapon gave her no advantages in close-quarters-combat. Yatsuhashi brought his greatsword into a heavy two-handed chop, which the kick-fighter managed to dodge by a hair, before sending a spinning back kick at the swordsman's head. Yatsuhashi raised his left shoulder and blocked the kick with his five-layered sode, and slid back several feet from the force of the blow, otherwise unharmed. Coco, seeing an opportunity, unloaded once again on Mercury, but missed as the young man jumped into the air, flipping backwards towards her. He landed on the barrels of her minigun and kicked her in the face before flipping away once more to avoid a stroke of Yatsuhashi's sword. Mercury then tried to kick both of his opponents, but the taller Huntsman-in-training backhanded him with his right fist. The kick-fighter flew over Coco, but managed to grab her shoulders, and placed her into a hold before using his right foot to ram the muzzle of Gianduja into Yatsuhashi's gut. Without hesitation, the swordsman performed a long thrust right for Mercury's head, forcing him to flip away as Coco brought around her minigun to open fire once more.

While in midair, the false-Havenite launched two blasts from Talaria, his boot weapons, before spinning on his hands. Coco and Yatsuhashi turned to face their opponent, just in time to see the projectiles, and batted them away, sending them into the hot spring biome where they exploded on contact. Returning their gaze to Mercury, they witnessed him creating a cyclone of projectiles as he spun his legs around him, before unleashed a bombardment at them. As the projectiles struck the ground, they kicked up a large plume of smoke, obscuring Team CFVY's vision just long enough for the kick-fighter to flank them. Yatsuhashi noticed him first, and tried to land an elbow strike, but Mercury avoided the attack, and grabbed the both of them, letting loose a flurry of kicks. He successfully managed to knock the swordsman back so that he could strike Coco at full strength, and sent her flying to the edge of the forest biome, before turning his back to her. Coco wasn't down for long, and sprang to her feet to attack the kick-fighter, but was halted by a kusarigama flying out from the forest behind her, and wrapped itself around her waist. Before Coco could react, she was yanked across the arena into the forest, vanishing from view.

"Coco!" shouted Yatsuhashi, seeing his captain disappear into the foliage. He wanted to chase after her, as he feared for her safety, but in the corner of his eye saw Mercury perform a butterfly kick in mid air, and land a hit in his left temple.

The swordsman's head spun to the right, but to the genuine shock of the kick-fighter, the attack did not break his opponent's stance. Without looking at Mercury, Yatsuhachi punched the grey-haired imposter in the mouth with his gauntleted left fist. Mercury's head snapped backward from the blow, but was given no time to recover, as the swordsman grabbed him by the collar, and swung him over his head, driving him back first into the tiles of the arena. The wind was partially knocked out of Mercury, but what remained was then taken as Yatsuhashi stomped on his gut with his left boot. The Beaconite then grabbed his opponent once again, and threw him across the arena into the hot spring biome, before leaping incredibly high into the sky. Mercury crashed back first onto the wet stony ground, sliding a short distance before slowing to a halt, and let out a groan.

'Oh you motherfucker...' he thought, realizing that he had taken actual damage.

He wouldn't have time to assess that damage however, as he saw Yatsuhashi careening towards him from above, bringing Fulcrum down upon him. He managed to block the blade with the soles of his boots, and gritted his teeth in pain as he felt the astonishing power of the attack. That power was visible for all to see, as it created a shockwave that surpassed the biome itself. The ground beneath cracked in every direction, and caused shrapnel and steam to fly into the air.

'Oh fuck right off!' Mercury thought, firing two shots from Talaria to knock Fulcrum back, and used the recoil to kip-up onto his feet.

Now in a crouch, he swiped at Yatsuhashi's legs, who leapt over him to avoid it the kick, and turned on a dime to face his opponent, just as Mercury rose to meet him. The pair began to fight in an impressive display of skill, appearing very much to be engaged in a dance. Mercury was making full use of the momentum of his spins to increase the power of his kicks, which also helped with his evasiveness. To his great annoyance, despite being much faster than Yatsuhashi, the tall swordsman was keeping up with him blow for blow. Yatsuhashi was fully aware of the limitations of his large sword, and how much strength was required to wield it. He learned that he needed to utilize the momentum of his swings, and roll them into his fighting style, alongside his armour, which he used to parry attacks, as well as to protect his vitals. Yatsuhashi was no amateur, and was proving to be a more durable opponent than the undercover invader had anticipated.

'If I don't end this soon, she'll give me shit for the rest of the mission' Mercury thought, digging in his heels, and continued to kick the swordsman.

λΛλ

In the forest quarter of the arena, Coco crashed back first into the trunk of a tree, before falling to her knees. She shook her head to regain her senses, and was about to take inventory of the situation, when she realized that her sunglasses had been knocked off her face. Coco looked around, and found them lying beside her, shattered beyond repair.

"I take it back; I _don't_ like her" she muttered.

Suddenly, she spotted something in the foliage, and realized at the last moment that it was the muzzle of a firearm. It, of course, was Emerald who was firing both of her revolvers, Thief's Respite. Coco began to back flip to avoid the gunfire, once again trying to put some distance between herself and her opponent, and make full use of Gianduja's firepower. At last she was able to transform her weapon back into its minigun form, and retaliated with fierce determination. Emerald jumped and swung through the canopy of the forest, returning fire while she used the bows to shield her from the onslaught of the minigun. As Coco began to lead her shots to catch the younger teen in mid-jump between trees, she was shocked to see her disappear right in front of her. Her eyes began to dart from tree top to tree top, trying to spot her foe, very much hating how elusive she was being.

"Damn!" she growled, tightening her grip on the carry handle and trigger stick.

"Coco!" came a voice behind her, causing her to glance over her left shoulder to see it was Yatsuhashi.

"Watch out, she's in the trees!" she warned, but froze when she noticed something was array.

Her partner was in pristine condition, without a single scratch on him. She had fought often enough and long enough with Yatsuhashi to know _exactly_ how he looked at the end of a battle. His fighting style focused on utilizing his armour to divert direct attacks, and as a tank, he was very good at taking hits. It also went without saying that Coco had an eye for fashion, and she was _very_ good at noticing when something was wrong with an outfit. There was no way Mercury's attacks hadn't scratched his armour, so what was going on?

"That was a fantastic fight, but that last attack was the final blow with Mercury Black defeating Yatsuhashi Daichi!" announced Port.

"What?!" shouted Coco in shock, as her eyes flew to the holoscreen above her, and saw a replay of her teammate being knocked to the ground in the centre of the arena.

She then spun back around to look at "Yatsuhashi", and saw that she was alone. She swept her minigun around her, trying to spot her target, confused and fearful of what might occur. The previous day's conversation regarding the identity of Team CLME, was now returning to the forefront of her mind. Pyrrha might have said that everything had been a misunderstanding, but now, she was beginning to doubt the champion's words.

Unfortunately, her rattled nerves had been just enough of a distraction for Emerald to appear behind her, and struck her twice with such force that she flew out of the forest biome and crash next to her teammate.

"And there is Coco Adel!" shouted Oobleck. "What an upset! Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai are victorious! It looks like Mistral still has a shot of winning the tournament as Team CLME continues to the Singles Round!"

The Valian spectators groaned as they had now experienced their first loss of the tournament, whereas the Mistralese cheered excitedly that their final team was still in the running. In the reserved seating however, it was a different story. Fox and Velvet were at a loss for words, unable to believe that their teammates had lost against a first-year team. Teams SSSN, RWBY, and JNPR joined in their shock, as while they had seen Team CLME in action the previous day, they hadn't expected them to take the victory so easily. But it was Pyrrha who was the most distraught by Coco and Yatsuhashi's loss. She was doing everything in her power not to show it, but she felt her stomach twisting in so many knots she was fearful she might lose her breakfast.

'This shouldn't have happened' she thought as she watched four medics enter the arena to escort the fallen combatants in stretchers. 'They lost because they went against vile invaders instead of proper students. This wasn't right...this wasn't fair...'

The guilt of knowing the truth had weighed on her heavily ever since the Order had spoken to her, but now it had tripled seeing the consequences of remaining mum. Pyrrha began to think she should have told them at least a portion of the truth, so that Coco and Yatsuhashi would have had a better chance at victory. While she was not able to witness the fight between Emerald and Coco, the thick canopy of trees obscuring the match, the swordsman had put up a very good fight against Mercury. There at least, one of the dark agents could have taken out of the equation. Alas, they would not be so lucky this day, leaving either the Order or the Singles bracket to determine the fate of the battle.

Fox and Velvet rose to their feet, and quickly began to walk to the stairs, needing to get to their injured teammates as soon as possible. The concerned redhead watched them leave, and after a few moments, also stood and began to follow.

"Pyrrha?" asked Jaune.

"I'll be right back" she replied, disappearing before the blond could say anything else.

She walked hastily to the hallway below the Coliseum, and followed the sound of footsteps, knowing her upperclassmen were only just ahead. When she turned the corner, she saw Fox and Velvet looking over their fallen comrades, who were sprawled onto two stretchers carried by the assigned medics.

"How bad are their injuries?" she asked.

"Yatsuhashi took a monstrous beating from Mercury, but he's tough" replied Velvet. "But Coco..."

Pyrrha looked over to the captain on the second stretcher, and instantly felt her heart sink. Coco had a horrible gash on her left temple, blood running from her nose, and a nasty bruise on the right side of her jaw, which Pyrrha suspected was a sign it was either fractured or broken.

"I'm...sorry..." she said in a quiet voice, the guilt enveloping her even more as she knelt next to Velvet.

"It's alright, it's not as if it's your fault" reassured the rabbit Faunus, though her words only brought about more guilt to the swordswoman.

"We need to bring her to the Coliseum infirmary" insisted one of the medics. The girls nodded and were about to let the stretcher-bearers do their job, when Pyrrha felt a hand grab her sash.

"Ni...kos..." wheezed Coco painfully, regaining consciousness.

"Coco!" they gasped, not expecting her to speak.

"Don't talk" Pyrrha advised as calmly as she could. "You fought well, but you need to rest. We will take things from here."

"Li...sten...to...me..." the wounded Huntress-in-training continued in a quiet voice, not letting go of the redhead. Pyrrha leaned forward so that her left ear was right next to Coco's mouth, and listened as intently as she could. "The...girl...Em...erald...her...Sem...blence...is...dan...gerous. It...ill...usions..."

Before Pyrrha could ask her to be clearer, Coco lost consciousness once more.

"Coco?"

"She's sustained head trauma. We need to examine her right away" said the medic, and without any more delay, carried Coco down the hall, along with Yatsuhashi.

"We're going to go with them" added Velvet quickly. "Good luck to you and the others." And without saying another word, the other members of Team CFVY followed their injured friends, leaving Pyrrha alone in the hall with her remorse.

She remained there for several moments, trying to calm herself before returning to her friends, when from the intersecting passage to the right, emerged Mercury and Emerald, just as Cinder and "Laura" came around the bend further up the hall. Pyrrha froze, unsure of what to do, or how they would react to seeing her.

"Oh, it's you, Pyrrha Nikos" said Emerald, putting on her fake smile and persona.

"Y-Yes, hello" the redhead managed to say quickly, putting on a mask of her own. "Congratulations on your second victory."

"Thank you" replied the green-haired thief, increasing her hollow smile and closing her eyes. "Good luck with your match today."

"Same" added Mercury, giving her a curt two finger salute. "I'm going to Singles Round; I'm looking forward to our rematch."

"So am I" replied Pyrrha, meaning that more than the imposters could have possibly known.

"Give our best to Ruby and the others" Cinder said in a manner that was meant to be warm, but to Pyrrha, solely came across as cold and foul.

"I will" the true Mistralese lied, bowing to hide the loathing in her eyes, as the team turned to go back to their side of the Coliseum.

There were a few second of silence that followed when the invaders disappeared from view. Then, in a shocking display of speed, Pyrrha punched the wall with her left fist, sinking it into the concrete past her knuckles. Her Aura flared as she felt rage like she never had before, and it took all of the discipline she had acquired throughout her life to stop herself from drawing her arms and charging after them.

'With the Gods of Light as my witnesses' she vowed with fierce determination, 'if they grant me the opportunity, I will bring judgement upon those vile invaders. On my life, I shall.' 

λΛλ

In the skybox, Ozpin sighed mournfully as he watched his students being escorted out of the arena.

"There's nothing you could have done, Sam" assured the General. "Any form of interference would have given them wind that we're onto them."

"I know" acknowledged the silver-haired Huntmaster, rubbing his temples with his left hand as he checked his Scroll with his right.

"Still nothing?"

"None."

"Damn it, Qrow" hissed Ironwood, taking a sip of his whiskey. "If he could just send us some form of update; that alone would give me some piece of mind."

"As it would for me, but this, as it has always been for us, is a test of faith."

"In Qrow or the Gods?"

"My faith in Qrow is unshakable" Ozpin affirmed, pulling an antique pocket watch from a front pocket and opening it. "This is a test of all our collected experience, preparation, and determination to the cause...and I believe that we will triumph."

Ironwood looked over to Winter who was standing at attention ten feet behind him, and noticed she was very tense, despite the cold composure she portrayed.

"I pray so."

λΛλ

Pyrrha returned to the reserved seating and sat silently next to Jaune, doing her best to maintain her mask for the sake of her friends.

"Are you OK?" he asked, worried she had left for a reason she was still keeping secret.

"Yes, I was just concerned for Team CFVY" she replied honestly enough.

"How are they?" asked Ruby.

"Yatsuhashi is fairly roughed up, but otherwise alright. Coco is..." she trailed, feeling the guilt return.

The others looked down in worry, not at all pleased to hear their upperclassman had been severely injured. Jaune continued to eye his lieutenant, wrestling with his own emotions, as he could see through Pyrrha's facade. She was deeply troubled about something, but he continued to force himself to respect her privacy, and not berate her with questions. The problem now was that he could see just how shaken she was, as her eyes once again revealed the truth when her face did not. In that moment, he struggled against the two parts of himself that now defined him: the lover and the commander. As her lover, he desperately wanted to know what was causing her such distress, as he wanted to protect her from harm, and be the same supporting person she'd been for him. As her captain, he worried how she would perform in the tournament, as being this rattled could cost them the victory or worse; her getting badly hurt. Obviously, the lover part was winning, and he desperately wanted to take her in his arms and comfort her. He knew however that he could not, but instead took her hand and squeezed it, trying to infuse the action with all his love.

Pyrrha looked up at him, and he felt his heart lodge itself in his throat when he gazed into her big vivid green eyes; seeing both the turmoil and beauty within. What he could not see of course, was that Pyrrha was having the same internal struggle he was. She desperately wanted to be in his arms and tell him the truth, in its entirety, and wanted to hear his opinions. At the same time, she desperately wanted to protect him, and not involve him in the Order, fearing he would be severely hurt or worse. Seeing what Cinder could do to a Maiden and what her lackeys had done to Coco and Yatsuhashi, forced her to admit that Jaune was in no way ready to take on such foes. The dread that came from imagining her captain in pain drove her to remain silent, just as much as her desire to uphold her holy oaths did. She promised she would tell him the truth, but not now; as much as it pained her.

"Let's begin the selection for the second match of the Doubles Round!" announced Port, initiating the randomizing process, landing on RWBY and FNKI. "And here comes Vale's chance at redemption with Yang Xiao Long and Weiss Schnee of Team RWBY versus Flynt Coal and Neon Katt of Team FNKI!"

Yang pumped her fists in excitement as Weiss sighed in relief along with Neptune, both incredibly grateful that they wouldn't be facing one another. The heiress looked over to her love interest with a smile, and was about to take his hand, when Yang grabbed the back of her collar.

"No time for love, Schnee! We got a match to win!" the blonde cried, and bolted with her teammate in tow, protesting in a language Yang didn't understand.

"Well that's one crisis avoided" chimed Sun, resting his hands behind his head.

"Now we just need to win" continued Blake with a smirk, happy for her friend's good fortune.

"We will" smiled Ruby confidently. "My sister is unstoppable and Weiss is sharper than a tack. They got this!"

"Since they're going up against an Atlassian team, I won't feel so bad cheering for'em" the Monkey Faunus added, getting a laugh from the rest of his team.

λΛλ

Yang and Weiss walked side by side through the now familiar hall below the Coliseum, heading towards the arena as their souls burned with determination. The blond was especially excited, for while she wouldn't be facing Pyrrha that day, she knew she needed to win in order to face her in the Singles. The heiress was more even-tempered, but nonetheless felt her competitive drive firing on all cylinders.

"Finally it's our turn!" Yang grinned, shrugging her shoulders and causing an audible crack. "Man, I'm on fire!"

"Just remember to keep proper form, and adhere to the battle strategies we devised if they try to overtake us" advised Weiss.

"I got ya. So...you're from Atlas; what do you expect we'll be in for?"

They climbed the ramp that connected to the grounds, and made their way up the path to the arena itself.

"My Kingdom operates very differently from the other three" the heiress began. "Minus Vacuo as they are the outlier, Vale and Mistral have their Royal armies and their Huntsmen institutions as separate entities that work together, rather than separate branches of one overarching force. Atlas on the other hand, unites them under one banner, making sure that all are trained under one united doctrine and system. Of course, not everyone can be a Huntsman or Huntress, as they are in Atlas what they are in the other Kingdoms: the elite. Nevertheless, you are given a military rank, and trained with the same strictness as any proper standing army requires to run smoothly. I expect Team FNKI to display excellent form, tactics, and discipl–"

Weiss halted as she finally laid eyes on said Team FNKI, who were clearly the exact _opposite_ of what she had just explained. Flynt Coal was a dark-skinned man with equally dark brown eyes partially hidden behind rectangular sunglasses, as well as an earring on his right ear. He wore a dark fedora with a blue trim, a dark vest over an untucked white dress shirt, with a loose tie wrapped around the collar. Completing his attire was a pair of dark dress pants, silver dress shoes, and a dark glove on his left hand. In that hand was surprisingly a C trumpet, called Iam Tenebris, which was something that Weiss noticed right away, and was befuddled on how it could be used as a weapon.

To his side was Neon Katt, a Cat Faunus girl with a light complexion, green eyes, and moderate red-orange hair with light blue streaks in her bangs. Protruding from her eye-drawing hair done up in two pigtails, were a pair of pink cat ears that matched her tail, which were covered with pink fur that became lighter toward the tip. Her outfit bore a vast range of bright colors, which included a light blue cropped tank top over a dark purple bra, showing her upper cleavage. She also wore dark purple short shorts under a pink combat mini-skirt, and white belt with a yellow winking smiley face on the buckle. Two buttons were fixed to her tank top over her right breast, one purple with a cat design and the other one green with a heart. On her neck was a white cat bell collar, with a pair of matching bracers on her arms, and pads on her shins and knees. Her right arm had a visible tattoo of a shooting star with red, green, and yellow trail winds around, which wrapped around her bicep several times. To complete her strange attire were a pair of red roller blades, and a pair of nunchaku called Grave e Prestissimo, which were clearly visible in her right hand.

These two were clearly an extravagant pair, leaving Weiss in a state of shock, where her tongue had curled and left her without words. Yang was in a similar state with her mouth hanging open, mostly due to the horrible colour clashing of Neon's outfit. At last, Weiss managed to recover, and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"...or whatever _they_ are...why are they out of uniform?" she groaned.

"You mean their school uniform or their military uniform?" asked the blonde, also recovering.

"Everyone who attends Ýdalir Academy is required to wear uniforms, designated by their branch" the heiress explained. "Yes, Huntsmen are permitted to modify their uniforms to personalize them, however, that is _after_ they graduate. How and why they are allowed to compete in such fashion is beyond me."

Atop the skybox, her elder sister shared her disdain for the students.

"Why are they out of uniform?" she asked with a scowl.

"I suppose they wanted to look good for the tournament" replied Ironwood.

"They are _disgracing_ the uniform, sir" Winter objected.

"Well..." the General eyed his students over the rim of his glass, "technically speaking they aren't _in_ uniform, and therefore, they cannot disgrace it." He looked over his shoulder to see the agitated expression on his Major's face, and spoke again. "Given what we already have on our plate, Major, I don't see the validity of adding something as insignificant as an Appearance and Grooming violation."

The elder Schnee wasn't completely satisfied with her commanding officer's response; however she did understand the point he was making, and returned to standing at attention.

Returning to the arena, the two opposing teams finally reached the centre of the battleground. As per the usual arrangement, they began to size each other up with some light-hearted banter.

"Hey!" called Flynt with a smile. "You're Weiss Schnee, right? The heiress?"

"I am" Weiss acknowledged with a bow. At least they were polite even if they poorly represented the best Atlas had to offer.

"I take it you're pretty good with Dust, then?"

"I do my best" she replied with a shrug, "though I would like to think it's one of my better skills."

"Yeah, my dad was good too. Owned a little Dust shop of his own..." he nodded as he looked at her from over his sunglasses. Then his smile turned into a scowl. "...till your father's company ran him out of business."

The change of tone in Flynt's voice caused Weiss' smile to vanish as well, and a sharp icy gaze had taken its place.

"That is a rather inflammatory accusation that I cannot accept on its face" she countered in a steady timbre. "Care to provide both a proper explanation of what occurred, and any evidence that my father or my company was responsible for the downfall of your family business?"

The trumpeter gritted his teeth, not liking her answer, and Weiss knew that he would be facing her one-on-one. Yang, who had witnessed the exchange, turned to look at her friend with concern, before deciding to fire back herself.

"Hey! Why don't you–"

"Hey! Why don't you?" imitated Neon as she pointed at Yang with a smile. "That's what you sound like!"

"Uh..." the blonde managed, blinking in utter confusion at the girl's childishness.

"Hey! Where'd you get your hair extensions?"

"...This is just my normal hair."

"Ooh, really?"

"Yeah! Is that a prob–"

"You should try rollerblading sometime! It's super fun!" the Cat Faunus cut in again, spinning in place. "It'd probably take you a while, though, since you're so... you know, top-heavy."

Yang, taken aback by the comment, looked down at herself as the holographic roulette wheel began selecting the biomes for the match.

"Excuse me!?"

From the stands, Ruby rolled her eyes, understanding the situation that was unfolding.

"Oh, here we go" she sighed.

"What's wrong?" asked Nora.

"Nothing, it's just..." began the younger Xiao Long, "Yang has always put a lot of time and effort into her appearance; making sure she looks good and stuff; especially her hair. So she kinda gets offended when people critic her looks, like, that she's a _little_ chubby or her boobs."

"Her boobs?"

"Yeah, like they're too big."

Nora squinted in confusion, her eyes darting back and forth in thought.

"Why are big boobs a bad thing?" she asked in a horse whisper. "That's like me saying my thunder-thighs are a bad thing."

"Aren't 'thunder-thighs' a bad thing?" asked Blake.

The ginger looked at her friend with a smug smirk.

"Oh ho ho no. I think they're a _very good_ thing, and I like mine quite a bit."

Jaune nudged Ren playfully when hearing this, earning a return nudge, and causing the blond to snicker. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the slight frown on his friend's face, as well as a light blush on his cheeks.

'The feeling's mutual' he thought, knowing that Ren couldn't hide forever.

The biomes had since been selected, and the arena transformed into four separate quadrants once more, this time with two new environments; a volcanic area and a sandy desert, with the return of steaming geysers, and ruined buildings.

"Fighters ready?" announced Professor Port, causing Yang to shake her fists while taking a fighting stance, activating Ember Celica.

Weiss, keeping her eyes locked with Flynt's, drew Myrtenaster from her right hip, and took a menacing Alfieri stance. Her sword hand was held lower so that her rapier faced at her opponent, while keeping the point level with her eyes. Her right hand was held up and open with her arm bent, and her palm facing slightly away. She leaned on her right foot, pointing it almost behind her, while keeping her left leg extended and pointing forward, practically on tiptop. 

"Three…Two…One…BEGIN!"

The Beaconites dashed forward just as Flynt raised Iam Tenebris and blew a powerful sound wave, pushing them back and allowing Neon to skate towards them. Instantly Weiss summoned white glyphs to give themselves footholds and halt their sliding, though also gave the Cat Faunus a perfect chance to attack. Thankfully, Yang realized she was the target, and was ready.

"I got the eye-sore!" she shouted, using both arms to block Neon's charge, before they took off to the ruined city biome.

Flynt, seeing that his teammate had successfully separated Team RWBY, grinned in satisfaction and stopped playing. He argued since the beginning of the tournament to fight the heiress alone if they were matched against her team. Given that he now had this once of a lifetime chance, he was going to thoroughly enjoy it. Now free, Weiss rose from her crouch and retook her previous fighting stance; an ice cold and determined glare on her face.

"Auf der hut! (En garde!)" she challenged, knowing that the honour of her family name was on the line.

The trumpeter replied by firing another blast of sound at the lieutenant, which she quickly countered with a black glyph, propelling herself forward and cutting through the wave. Flynt blew once more, this time maintaining the waves. Weiss countered by summoning a chain of glyph, giving herself a path to slowly approach her opponent while she kept Myrtenaster's point up. Realizing what she was doing, Flynt stopped playing his trumpet, causing the white-haired girl to rocket forward, which she had expected to happen, and channeled her increased momentum into a lightning quick lunge. The Atlassian captain managed to lean back in time to avoid the attack, before aiming a kick with his right leg at Weiss' now exposed back. The heiress brought her sword over her shoulder and blocked the kick with the flat of her blade, as she summoned a white glyph with her right hand to halt her advance. She then pivoted to face her opponent and lunged, aiming for his head, and punched a hole cleanly through his hat, just before he tried to back away. Once he did, he realized what had happened and sneered at her in frustration.

Weiss smirked proudly, knowing that she had injured his pride.

"That C trumpet appears to be out of tune" she mocked, retaking her stance and pointed her sword at him. "Shall we begin the second movement?"

In the ruined buildings, Yang was swearing continuously under her breath as she ran after Neon through the biome. Following the first attack, the Cat Faunus no longer seemed interested in fighting the blonde, leaving her opponent to give chase as she fired her weapon at her. She dodged the shots with ease, and began to make faces at Yang, hopping to enrage her further.

"I'm gonna kill this bitch" the blonde growled, and returned to her fruitless barrage.

"She's just burning through her ammunition" commented Pyrrha, who was studying Yang's match to gather more information for their inevitable meeting in the Singles Round.

"Lead your shots!" shouted Ruby in frustration, knowing just how little respect her sister had for marksmanship.

Yang of course could not hear her captain's advice over her cursing and gunfire. As per usual when it came to combat, she allowed her emotions to get the better of her, and would become laser focused on crushing her foe, regardless of the personal cost. However, while this was happening, Neon seemed to be focused on something entirely different.

"Never miss a beat! Never miss a beat! Never miss a beat! Never miss a beat!" she repeated like a mantra, evading the incoming projectiles with hardly any notice of them.

She finally skated down a makeshift ramp made from the roof of a collapsed building, and with surprising speed, charged at Yang while drawing Grave e Prestissimo. She began to unleash a bevy of drive-by strikes with her nunchaku, encircling the blonde so that she had to continuously guess where the next attack would come from.

Yang had successfully managed to block the first half dozen attacks, but her defenses quickly eroded, and many more attacks landed before Neon skated away. Impressively, Yang had not been knocked off her feet, and appeared to be uninjured as she cracked her neck in annoyance. She jerked her arms, causing her gauntlets to eject the spent shotgun shells, which bounced the concrete with a hollow plastic sound, as she glared venomously at her Faunus opponent.

Neon merely grinned at the curvier blonde's glare, getting exactly what she wanted from her. Gripping both ends of Grave e Prestissimo, she bent them until they cracked, revealing they were also blue glow sticks. Twirling her nunchaku with glee, she charged at Yang once again with wild excitement in her eyes. Neon bounced off some ruble, and came at Yang without attacking, provoking the brawler to throw a haymaker, which she avoided by skating under it. Yang was about to turn and fire at the Faunus, when she suddenly felt her right leg getting cold, and looked down to see that it was covered in ice from the knee down. She wasn't in pain of course, but felt as if she had been slapped in the face, as it was abundantly clear her opponent was not taking this seriously. If it wasn't clear enough, Neon's laughter cemented it.

"Hm-hmm! Look!" she giggled, slapping her own ass. "Now you're _bottom-heavy_ , too!"

Yang felt a vein throb in her temple, and she aggressively stomped her foot onto the ground, shattering the ice and making a small crater. Just as she freed herself, she caught Neon coming at her in the corner of her eye, and just barely managed to block a strike with her left arm, which froze the same way her leg had. The Atlassian girl skated off once again, making use of the rubble to show off her proficiency with her roller skates, before she had enough running space to charge at Yang, greatly telegraphing her attack. She jumped into the air and aimed both feet at Yang, who raised her frozen left arm and used it as an impromptu shield, which Neon bounced off of while giggling. The blow pushed the blonde back, but she thankfully dug her heels in before the attack landed, and she only skidded a dozen feet before halting. Some shards of ice fell to the ground as Yang looked up to the Cat Faunus, who was still giggling like mad.

"You should cool off! Get it? Because you're angry" she punned, very much pleased with herself.

The blonde swung her arm to the wall behind her in anger, shattering not only the remaining ice attached to her gauntlet, but the wall itself.

'You fuckin' try to pun in _my_ presence?' she growled internally, her eyes burning bright red. 'Oh I am gonna skin this cat _alive_.'

Weiss and Flynt continued their battle of Dust in the meantime, rather intensely. They kept each other at bay with sound waves and shards of ice, unable to land solid blows. They traded positions in the centre of the arena, before finally moving into the volcanic biome. This certainly put the heiress at a disadvantage, but she was ready to face any and all challenges to defend her family's honour. She began to summon white glyphs behind her, creating more large ice shards, and sending them at the captain of Team FNKI. Right before they hit him, Flynt noticed the ground in front of him was glowing, and knowing what was going to happen next, performed a back flip to dodge the first two shards, before blowing Iam Tenebris as a column of hot steam erupted from the ground. Using his sound waves, he angled the steam to melt the remaining two ice shards, before standing with a proud smile on his face.

"Too bad all that money can't buy you skill" he said mockingly.

Weiss was unmoved. "Well, thank the Gods that talk is cheap" she returned smoothly.

Flynt sneered at her as she flicked Myrtenaster's cylinder with her left thumb, positioning it to the chamber containing white Dust. She pointed her rapier at her opponent just as he brought his trumpet to his lips, and she unleashed a tornado. Flynt blew a blast of sound waves to counter the white-haired rapierist's wind, but this was exactly what she wanted. With her right hand, she began to summon white glyphs to encircle them, evenly spaced to guarantee there was no escape. Weiss jumped to step on the glyph right behind her, and began to bounce from one to the other, summoning more ice shards as she leapt, pelting Flynt from every direction. It was impossible for him to defend himself, as not only was he unable to keep up with her speed, but the flurry of ice made it so he couldn't even raise his trumpet.

Realizing that the fight could well end right then and there if he didn't counter her onslaught, Flynt decided to go full throttle, and began to increase his Aura. To the surprise of both Weiss and the spectators, three more Flynts emerged from the first, only distinguishable by the different coloured ties and hat ribbons, and positioned themselves back to back. Each began to simultaneously play their trumpets, unleashing sound waves to cut off Weiss' multidirectional attack. She dissolved her glyphs and dashed outside of the range of his quartet, assessing what new approach she would have to take. In the stands, Sun and Blake tilted their heads in intrigue, as the similarity of their Semblances caused them to wonder how his worked.

The battle between Yang and Neon had hardly improved in the meantime, as the blonde's frustration was beginning to reach a fever pitch. She fired shell after shell at the evasive Cat Faunus, but not once had she hit her target. Neon skated and jumped off another ramp made from debris to reach the centre of the arena, with Yang only a few beats behind. The blonde landed onto the tiled surface of the battle ground, cracking it where she touched down, and rose to glare with burning rage. The skater-girl noticed this and spun to face her, tilting her head like a curious cat.

"Ooh! Flashy eyes! Y'know, you're actually kinda pretty when you're angry" she said. 

'Oh _Hell_ no!' Yang shouted in her mind. 'I can't get a guy to hit on me, so I get _this_ annoying bitch?' She threw her arms behind her and fired her gauntlets simultaneously, launching herself forward to close the distance between them before her opponent could get away. The blonde was unfortunately not fast enough, and Neon rolled out of the way, and circled around Yang while skating backwards. "Get back here!"

"Are you angry cuz of what I said?" she asked in mock innocence. "I wasn't trying to say that you _should_ go on a diet, I was saying you really **_need_** to go on a diet!"

"That's fuckin' i–"

"You're fat."

"YOU FUCKING WHORE!!!" screamed the busty blonde, her Aura flashing as she unleashed her Semblance at last. Her hair burst into flame, materializing her internal rage and having it on full display.

In the stands, Ruby quickly pulled out her Scroll and shut it off, causing Blake to look at her with confusion.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Turning off my Scroll."

"Why?"

Ruby sighed. "Because if _I_ was able to hear that, then the _cameras_ were able to hear that, which means my _dad_ was able to hear that, which means he'll be trying to call me to tell me to tell Yang not to swear" she explained in a tone that made it sound as if the was a common occurrence.

"She _is_ a bit foul-mouthed" admitted Pyrrha politely.

"You weren't kidding about her being sensitive about her looks" commented Sun scratching his chin, amused by older Xiao Long sister. "I thought she was being over the top with her hair, but _this_..."

"Yeah, she has a little bit of a temper" admitted Ruby.

"A little?" Sun pointed to the burning blonde with one of his eyebrows raised. "That's what you call _that_ bonfire?"

"Well no...Dad has two nicknames for her depending on her mood. When she's normal he calls her his 'Sunny Little Dragon'."

"And when she's bursting into flames?"

"...'Hell on Wheels'."

Nora and Sun threw their heads back in laughter, as Ruby and Blake anxiously watched their teammate fire off in every conceivable way.

With Weiss and Flynt's match, the trumpeter and his clones faced the heiress, each with a confident grin on their faces.

"What's wrong Schnee? Afraid to face the music?" the original taunted, proud he had shut down her assault.

Once again, Weiss refused to allow his frivolous comments affect her.

"Hardly, Coal. Your rather poor excuse of a quartet merely requires that I raise the tempo" she replied coolly, swinging her sword in a clockwise rotation, and summoning a black Glyph beneath her. "And now, the third movement."

The Flynts began to play once more, blowing on their own Iam Tenebris, all aiming for Weiss. Like a bullet out of a gun, the white-haired Huntress-in-training fired herself out of the way. The quartet instantly positioned themselves back to back to avoid being flanked, and each trying to land an attack on their quick-footed opponent. Unlike the previous attempt, Weiss was moving significantly faster than before, but refrained from attacking with projectiles. This wasn't giving the other Atlassian any piece of mind, as he was growing more irritated by the second, as he wasn't able to land a blow.

"Whoa, she's fast" said Neptune with a proud smile on his face, impressed to see the level of skill his love interest was displaying.

"I know, right?" furthered Ruby with an equally proud grin. "I'm the fastest by far, but thanks to her Glyphs, she can actually keep up with me! We decided to practise manoeuvrability for the tournament." She folded her arms as she said this, very pleased with herself for using a big word.

"They played tag" explained Blake with a smirk, getting a chuckle out of Sun.

"A very _enthusiastic_ game of tag" corrected the little captain, tilting her chin up in delight for using another big word.

While it was true that the captain and lieutenant of Team RWBY had effectively played a form of tag as a training exercise, there was sound logic behind it. The goal was to improve their manoeuvrability and reaction times, traversing less than desirable terrain, and learning how to avoid obstacles. In Weiss' case, it was about improving her Glyph coordination, switching between their combinations with Dust, and nailing the timing. For both of them, it also aided in their stamina, both physical and Auracal, pushing themselves to exhaustion and beyond. The training was now beginning to bear fruit, as it was giving Weiss the time she needed to put her plan into motion. She wasn't merely running for the sake of it; she was trying to find a chink in Flynt's defenses. Weiss knew that she would have the take down the fake Flynts before going after him directly, as they would otherwise keep him out of harm's way. If she should find the gap in the armour she was looking for, she would end this faster than it took Ruby to finish a plate of cookies.

Flynt was desperately trying to predict her movements, knowing that his sound waves weren't fast enough to hit her otherwise. But every time that he tried to lead a shot by firing where he believed she going next, she darted away like a snowshoe hare, and evaded the attack with ease. He eyed his Dust levels and frowned as he could see just how much remained in Iam Tenebris' valves, or rather, just how much he had wasted. If he didn't land a hit on her soon, he would have to reload under an extreme amount of pressure, and he wasn't sure he would be able to before she overwhelmed him.

That was when Weiss saw the moment she'd been waiting for. Turning on a dime, she lunged towards the Flynt with the lime-green tie, and pierced him cleanly through the heart. This Flynt instantly vanished the moment the point of Myrtenaster passed through his back, causing a grin to form on the Ice Queen's face. Before the real Flynt realized what happened, the heiress dashed away, allowing the panic she believed would set in to do its work, and wait for the opportune moment to strike again. The Flynts closed ranks, trying to avoid losing any more ground. However, the snowball had already begun rolling, as Weiss initiated the final steps of her plan.

She entered the blind spot of the fuchsia tied Flynt, and pierced him under his right armpit. Before the other two could react, Weiss dashed away, and then returned from below, and drove her rapier through the neck of the canary-yellow Flynt. With the real Flynt remaining, she prepared herself to end the fight decisively. The trumpeter spun round to face her, and his eyes widened as he saw her posed before him. She threaded her rapier through the space between the leadpipe and the bell, and with a violent twist, wrenched Iam Tenebris from Flynt's hands, cleanly disarming him. She then touched the point of Myrtenaster, freezing it with an ice stopper, and took a menacing stance with her right hand extended before her, and her left hand drawn back, anchored just behind her ear.

"Auf Wiedersehen, Flynt Coal" she said, staring into his eyes with all the coldness she could muster, before unleashed a flurry of strikes at blinding speeds. In the blink of eye she had landed over a hundred strikes, ending the onslaught with one final lunge aimed for the centre of his chest, which sent him backwards and crashing onto his back.

"Flynt Coal has been knocked out by Weiss Schnee!" announced Doctor Oobleck, causing the Valian spectators to cheer, and leaving the Atlassians to quietly boo, as they felt conflicted between the team competing for their Kingdom, and the heiress to their Kingdom's crown jewel. In the reserved seating, Teams RWBY and JNPR cheered for their friend, with Neptune rising to his feet and calling out to her.

"Way to go, Snow Angel!" he shouted, grinning from ear to ear, feeling his chest swell with pride. He was unable to see from where he stood, but Weiss had heard his praise, and she couldn't stop a proud smile of her own from spreading across her face, her cheeks dusted pink.

On the other side of the arena, Yang and Neon stopped fighting and looked at their teammates.

"Flynt lost?!" the Cat Faunus cried in disbelief, her mouth hanging open in shock.

This proved to be a mistake for the skater-girl, as she had stopped moving when she realized her captain had lost his fight. Yang took full advantage of her distraction, and fired Ember Celica behind her, launching herself at the Faunus while twisting in midair, and landing a powerful spinning back kick centre mast. Neon doubled over from the blow, and flew towards the sand biome.

Weiss had seen this, and decided to give her teammate a helping hand. She launched herself towards the flying cat, and unleashed a tornado from Myrtenaster, pushing Neon away from the desert and towards the geysers. Her timing had been perfect, as Neon got caught within a geyser blast, sending her flying high into the air. Yang, who had since calmed down enough to think clearly, understood what Weiss was doing, and she aimed above Neon, firing a shot. Her timing was spot on as well, as the projectile connected with its target, creating a dazzling explosion in the sky. As soon as it did, the blonde threw up the double bird, and let out the most guttural "Fuck you" she could manage through clenched teeth.

"And Yang Xiao Long has knocked out Neon Katt with a favourable wind from Weiss Schnee!" announced Professor Port. "The winner of the match is Team RWBY!"

The crowd erupted in cheers and applause, which Teams RWBY, JNPR, and SSSN joined with gusto. Ruby had slumped back in her seat however, as she was relieved that her sister had at last led a shot. In the private skybox, Winter couldn't suppress a proud smirk, as her younger sister had shown just how much she had grown since the last time they trained together; even though she couldn't summon properly yet. Her smirk quickly vanished as her General slapped his hand on the armrest of his chair.

"Pity that" remarked Ozpin as he glanced at his still dormant Scroll.

"Ah shove it" Ironwood retorted, bringing his glass to his lips. "That was a good showing by your students." He drained the contents of his glass, and rose to his feet to procure a refill from the bar.

While the cheers rang inside the Coliseum, Flynt regained consciousness and bolted upright. He looked around in confusion, before his eyes rested on the holoscreen to his left, causing his heart to fall into his stomach. His head dropped to the tiled ground of the arena, and saw his shattered sunglasses, adding insult to injury. He then saw a pair of white high heels come into view, and he looked up to see Weiss walking towards him.

"You come to rub it in my face, Schnee?" he sneered. "To gloat above the little guy from your ivory tow–"

Weiss stabbed Myrtenaster between Flynt's spread legs, shattering the ice on the point and burying it into the tile, cutting him off. She rested both hands on the pommel, and she took a slow and steady breath.

"Allow me to make something abundantly clear, Coal" stated the heiress, glaring at the trumpeter glacially. "While my father and I have disagreements on a great many things, neither of us will tolerate the family name to be dragged through the dirt by baseless accusations. The fact that your family business went under is unfortunate, and I am truly sorry for that. However, placing the blame at our feet is both slanderous and vituperative. I do not have your records, so I cannot see how your father's shop was run and make any definitive judgements. If you would like, I can offer some business consulting, or even pass word to my father for a possible partnership with your shop, where you can continue to sell Dust under the Schnee brand."

Flynt stared at the swordswoman in shock, before gritting his teeth angrily.

"You think I want you charity? Your sympathy?" he growled.

"I am offering you neither charity nor sympathy, Flynt Coal" Weiss replied, removing her rapier from the ground, and sheathed it with a metallic click. "I am offering you my pity. And with that interjection, you will get that and nothing more."

With that, the Ice Queen turned her back on the defeated trumpeter, who slumped over in bitterness. As Weiss walked back towards the Vale locker area, Yang joined the heiress and leaned over to speak to her.

"What was that all about?" she asked. She had patiently watched the exchange, understanding there was some sort history between them. However, Yang knew she was missing a great deal of context, and had wanted clarification since the initial spat.

"Tell me, Yang, you are from a small island called Patch, yes?" the white-haired Beaconite posed.

"Uh...yeah; near Blanche Town" the blonde replied, not understanding why her friend was asking a question she already knew the answer to.

"And you have lived there your entire life, correct?"

"Yeah..."

"Have you heard of the Schnee Dust Company?"

"Of course, who hasn't?"

"Precisely" Weiss nodded, appearing to finally get to the point of her questioning. "My family's company has been the world's largest Dust mining and refining enterprise for generations; distributing not only raw and refined Dust, but state of the art mining and refining equipment for both small and large scale Dust operations across Remnant. Yang, if you would be willing to entertain me, please explain why we, the Schnee Dust Company, would care about shutting down one small Dust shop?"

The elder Xiao Long paused for only a moment before shrugging.

"I've got no clue."

"My point exactly. Coal claimed that my father ran his father's shop out of business; as if he came after them personally with a pack of thugs to ruin them" continued Weiss, shaking her head in disbelief, and making no effort to mask the frustration in her voice. "How many times has this happened before; individuals blaming us for their own problems? And you know what is most amusing about all of this? I am willing to bet half a year's allowance that his father is not whingeing. Gods, I despise liars."

"There's got to be more to it than that, right?" reasoned Yang.

"If there is, it matters not, for I no longer care" excused Weiss bitterly. "I offered him an opportunity to start again, and he wanted no part in it. That is entirely fine. The Schnee Dust Company, including myself, have only one true enemy, and that is the White Fang."

λΛλ

Returning to the skybox, Winter pressed the earpiece in her right ear closer to make sure she could fully hear the voice on the other end. After a moment, she thanked the caller before speaking aloud.

"General Ironwood. We have word from Gray Boar" she said, before pressing a button on her earpiece to transfer the secured call to his own communicator.

The Huntmaster-General sat up straight and pressed his earpiece closer, while he blocked his left ear to deafen the sound of the crowd. Ozpin watched his friend closely, as this could affect their plans significantly in either direction. After a full minute, Ironwood finally spoke.

"Understood. Give him my thanks and tell him to standby. Over and out" he said curtly, before killing the call and turning to his friend, grinning like a wolf after spotting its prey. "We've got a lock on Taurus' forces."

The silver-haired lore master nodded, as the news was good to hear.

"We still require word from Qrow to carry out the first half our plan. Then and only then can we go about executing the second."

"Of course. I can't have my forces move during the day anyways, but this does take a load off my mind. However, time _is_ running out, Sam, and the next match will no doubt be a short one. If Qrow doesn't show before the final match..."

Ozpin glanced at his Scroll one last time before speaking definitively.

"Qrow has never failed us before, and I refuse to believe he will start now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there were two major changes with this chapter:
> 
> The first was with Coco. I cannot explain why, but when I first watched that fight years ago, I fully expected for her to inform the others about Emerald's Semblance. It would have helped them defend Yang; but we now know that CRWBY is desperate to create drama, even if it doesn't make sense.
> 
> Second was Weiss, and Gods there was a lot to fix.
> 
> If I haven't stated this previously, I was never a fan of Weiss for the first three volumes. However, when this match first aired, I felt genuine pity for her. I didn't believe she deserved to be attacked in such a manner, and it was out of character for her to simply allow Flynt to walk all over her. We now know that it was nothing more than CRWBY's childish view that "the rich are evil", which resulted in the Schnee Dust Company making no sense in world. Thus, I amended it without erasing the Schnee legacy or Jacques' idealism causing conflict within the family.
> 
> The other change was Weiss' swordsmanship. Weiss has always been implied to be a talented swordswoman, but she honestly has never displayed that. Thus, I gave her a proper rapier engagement posture; you know, "Keep proper form" and all that. I could have gone with a German stance, but none that I found matched Weiss' personality. Also, as an Italian, I am biased towards my nation's traditions, so a mid-17th century Giganti style stance, it was.
> 
> In that same vein, I corrected a mistake that I, and as I've now learned, MANY people haven't noticed. Weiss is left-handed, and yet, she carries Myrtenaster on her left hip. That makes not a lick of sense, and I had to find out how could CRWBY have made this mistake for so long. It turns out that Monty did this on purpose, claiming "You carry guns on your dominant side". It is clear that while Monty could choreograph a fight like no one else, he knew nothing about weapons; arms or firearms. Mr. Oum, with all due respect, we have used swords for over 5000 years, therefore we wouldn't have carried them on our non-dominant side all this time if it wasn't the best way to do so.
> 
> There are unfortunately many little errors like these that cause major problems, and I have done my best to correct them. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I will see you next time.


	9. All the King's Men

The fire and ice duo finally reached their friends, glad that the match was at last over.

"Well that was the worst thing ever" groaned Yang, plopping down next to her sister.

"I think you both did quite well" argued Pyrrha politely.

"Weiss did, but I didn't" the blonde huffed in annoyance, folding her arms. "All that girl did was run around like a pussy, and went down with a single hit when I was finally able to get her. So fucking annoying."

"I see what you did there" commented Sun, grinning at her pun.

"Oh Gods, thanks for reminding me. She started making puns, and I think she even _hit_ on me."

"Now you know our pain" Blake sighed, holding her hands up as if she were receiving a blessing from the heavens. The others began to laugh, but Yang was not willing to take that sitting down.

"Listen here, _I_ tell _great_ puns. _Hers_ were _awful_."

"They are _all_ awful, Yang" interjected Weiss.

"You be quiet. Don't think I didn't hear _you_ making puns out there. I'm proud of you, by the way."

"Those were not puns. Those were appropriately themed musical retorts" defended the heiress, which in all fairness, was indeed true. Of course the others were too in shock from Yang's revelation, so they did not pay any attention to Weiss' defense.

"Weiss made puns, Blake..." whimpered Ruby in fear, clutching onto her teammate's arm. "The world is ending...we need to run..."

"Where are we going to go?" the Cat Faunus asked, actually amused by her captain's reaction.

"I don't care, just very far away from here..."

"Fuck me" swore the blonde, shaking her head in disbelief. "Bunch of primadonnas over here."

While the Huntsmen-in-training had a good laugh at the elder Xiao Long's expense, Neptune chose to focus on the young upper-class woman who had seated herself next to him. He could tell that something was bothering her, despite her claiming a decisive victory over Flynt Coal. He'd been unable to hear their conversations, but he had seen their faces clearly enough, thus he was fairly certain their exchanges had been unpleasant.

"You OK?" he asked softly, taking her hand.

Weiss sigh, squeezing his hand and looked at him with her light blue eyes. Instantly Neptune could see that they matched the frustrated expression she had on her face, thus confirming his suspicions.

"I'm alright. I took care of it."

"Was it something he said?" the Vacuan lieutenant continued, referring to Flynt.

"...Yes and no. It's...just a continuation of general assumptions made by people who know nothing about me or my family. It's fine, I'm used to it."

Neptune frowned a little, and brought up her hand, kissing it. He only partially understood what she was referring to, remembering the conversation they had the day before, but he nevertheless wanted to be as comforting as possible.

"If ever you want to talk about it, I'm here, Snow Angel" he said softly. Weiss blushed, sensing how much he meant those words, and was deeply touched by them.

"Thank you" she whispered, causing him to smile and deepen her blush.

"Right then" began Sun, cracking his fingers by interlacing them and extending his arms. "Who's up next do you think? Only four teams left and two of them are sitting on the same bench."

"Looks like we're about to find out" added Jaune, noticing that the holoscreen had changed to the digital roulette, and began to spin through the remaining teams. After a couple of seconds, it rested on two.

"And the next match will be between Penny Polendina and Ciel Soleil of Ýdalir Academy, and Russell Thrush and Sky Lark of Beacon Academy!" announced Port, causing the Atlassians to cheer, eager to recover from the previous lose.

"Go Penny!" shouted Ruby, jumping to her feet in excitement.

"How the fuck did those chumps make it through the Teams Round?" asked Yang, which was the question that everyone had been thinking since yesterday.

"Even a blind squirrel finds a nut" offered Jaune with a shrug, having not even the slightest interest in cheering for his fellow classmates.

"So if _they_ are fighting...then that means..." Sun said slowly, turning to his right to look at Pyrrha and Nora, his eyes and smile widening with fiery anticipation. "Oh this is gonna be _fuuuuuuun_." He then looked over to Jaune and Ren. "Boys, I hope you can forgive us for having to kick your girlfriends' assess."

Ren and Nora blushed at the Vacuan captain's words, which always amused their friends to see.

"It's a tournament, these things are to be expected, so don't worry about it" reassured the other blond.

"You sure? No hard feelings?"

Jaune smirked. "If you can actually land a hit on Pyrrha, I'd consider that a feat worthy of praise, cuz she isn't losing to you or anyone. Good luck."

The Monkey Faunus grinned with excitement, very much appreciating the green light.

"You're mine, Nikos!" 

"I look forward to the match" replied Pyrrha with a smile, genuinely feeling her competitive fire being ignited.

"Wait, so I have to go up against the girl that absorbs and generates lightning?" asked Neptune incredulously. The ginger in question grinned wildly, sticking her tongue out playfully as an arch of pink electricity jumped off the tip.

" _You_ wanna go up against Nikos, then?" Sun retorted, equally dubious. The lieutenant looked between the two girls of Team JNPR before letting out a defeated sigh.

"I'll have to come up with a good counter strategy, I guess. Seriously though, you lucked out didn't you, Valkyrie? First you fought Nolan, and now me."

"At least your weapon's cool" she replied honestly. "Who fights with a cattle prod?"

"We've been wondering that since our Oscuro days" Sun admitted. "You've got to be resourceful in Vacuo, so maybe that's what he settled on."

"Or just get a sword and call it a day" Sage remarked, joined by Scarlet spinning Skullbuster whilst tapping the pommel of Midnight Star.

"I'm sure you taught them a valuable lesson by punting them out of the ring" the red-haired Vacuan said almost condescendingly, getting a laugh out of the others. 

Jaune chuckled at his friends, and was glad to see that Pyrrha was genuinely smiling, as well as looking forward to her match. It was then that his eyes caught of glimpse of something familiar; or rather, _someone_. On the Mistral side of the Coliseum, the blond saw the team of four boys who had confronted him at the fairgrounds. It then clicked in his mind what they were doing there, and he began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" asked Ren.

"Look over at the Mistral side" pointed Jaune. "You see that team on the far right? All dudes?"

"Yes?"

"Those are the assholes that tried to start a fight at the fairgrounds before the tournament. The guy third to the right is their captain. I broke his nose because of it, and I was hoping to face him again at some point. I guess I was so distracted yesterday, that I forgot they fought and lost."

"Wait what?" asked Nora, with the others all turning to look at the blond swordsman in shock, as none had been told of this beforehand. "You broke his nose?"

"There was...an _altercation_ " explained Pyrrha, slightly nervous from how intently everyone was focusing on them. "It was nothing major."

"He called Pyrrha a whore" Jaune spat, by no means over his resentment of having his woman's honour besmirched. Suddenly Nora and Weiss were on their feet, glaring with murderous anger at the other Mistralese, appearing as if they were about to vault over the railing and start a fight.

"You think I can hit them with Magnhild from here?" asked the enraged hammeress, quite serious in her implication that she would try it.

"Not only do I not believe you will hit them" Ren expressed, though it was clear in his tone of voice that he was not fond of his teammate being called such a derogatory word, "I am fairly certain that you would instead hit the spectators. And that would only be the case if the Coliseum's shields were not active, which they are."

"Well then I'll go around!" she announced, and was about to bolt to the stairway, but was halted by her green clad crush. "Let me go, Ren!"

"No. You'll get both yourself and Pyrrha disqualified if you attack them." That caused Nora to freeze and realize he was right.

"It was a miracle in and of itself that we weren't after what happened in the first place" admitted the redhead, feeling humbled by how quickly her friends were ready and willing to fight for her. "I was hoping that I wouldn't escalate to violence, but Jaune... _put his foot down_ when the taunting turned to me."

"Good" added Yang with a nod, who was joined by the others. "You did the right thing."

"Well... _yes_ , but he didn't exactly use that word..."

"But that was what he meant" argued Jaune correctly.

"Yes but–"

"There are no buts in this situation" cut in Sun, with a much more serious expression on his face than he usually did. "If some prick said that about Blake in my presence, I'd break both his legs."

That was obviously an even greater escalation than what Jaune had done, but at least amongst the boys, as well as Weiss, it still seemed reasonable. For the girls, Blake felt her cheeks warm greatly, as hearing Sun proclaim he was willing to defend her honour so strongly, made her heart skip a beat. Nora on the other hand, turned to look at the blond Faunus and smirked smugly, raising her fist up to him.

"I like you" she said, earning a grin back and a fist bump.

"So are we cheering for your classmates?" Sage asked, bringing everyone's attention to the mach at hand.

"No" the Beaconites all sounded off in unison. Cardin's team would remain ostracized for as long as they were still bullies and wouldn't apologize for their previous actions.

"We will be cheering for Ruby's friend" announced Weiss definitively. "Also, she's from Atlas, so I can cheer for my countrymen without guilt."

The others nodded in agreement, and looked to the arena eagerly as the match began.

λΛλ

In the skybox, the Huntmasters were watching the match as well, both feeling the final grains of sand falling to the bottom of the hourglass. Ozpin and Ironwood were equally aware that the match would be a quick one, and possibly leaving the outcome of the tournament in the hands of their enemies. They had meticulously crafted a plan to deal with the invaders, but it needed all the pieces to be in play to work. With the new location of Adam Taurus' forces secured, they could plan accordingly to defend the city from within. However, Cinder and her lackeys were currently on the board, and while they did have a plan to deal with them without putting the civilians at risk, without Qrow pulling his weight, they were dead in the water.

Suddenly, Ozpin's Scroll vibrated, causing the silver-haired Huntmaster to look at it. Reading the message that had been sent, he smiled in relief.

_Q: Bagged the rabbits. On my way up to the skybox._

The head of the Order quickly typed a response.

_O: Well done. I'll be in the private dining room._

Ozpin rose to his feet as he put his Scroll away in his inside breast pocket. Ironwood looked up at his colleague with reserved hope.

"Was that him?" he asked.

"Yes it was" Ozpin replied with a smile. "I assured you he would pull through."

The General sighed in relief and took a sip of his whiskey.

"Punch the bastard for taking his sweet ass time for me, would you?"

Ozpin chuckled as he briskly walked out of the skybox, exiting from the end of the bar into the hall, and began to walk towards a pair of oak double doors. He opened them to reveal a lovely dining room, filled with paintings, tapestries, and many other antiquities. There was a long mahogany table with a dozen high back chairs, upholstered with beautiful red leather, and golden studs. In the corner was a small but well stocked minibar, filled with a wide assortment of spirits from across Remnant. The floors were also made of old wood, and were covered in impressively stitched rugs, making the dining room appear as if it were from another age. The Huntmaster took a moment to enjoy the slight pause, feeling a desire to seat himself in one of the comfortable chairs, and begin reading one of the many books he had been desperately wishing to delve into. Perhaps he would indulge in such a luxury after they had defeated their foes; Gods willing.

He then heard a knock at the door, and beckoned for the knocker to enter, already certain of who it was. Of course it was indeed Qrow, looking only slightly worse for wear, accompanied by a party of the eight other Huntsmen. They were all well built men in their early twenties, impeccably dressed with clothes dyed in eye-catching colours. On Ozpin's left were four men dressed in variations of the Cavalier attire. They all wore knee high boots, leather gloves, wide brim beaver Cavalier hats with a single large feather in them, well stitched arming doublets, and suede breeches. On their shoulders were capelets, though allowing their dominant side exposed, and had a quick-release hook if ever the need to remove the garment in a hurry occurred. They were all armed with stunningly crafted rapiers with swept hilts, along with modified rifled muskets on their backs, and flintlock pistols at their non-sword hip. There was a clear uniformity to their clothing, something of a rarity when it came to Huntsmen teams. It appeared that they took more from the doctrine of the military than of Huntsmen, as despite being training and deployed in teams of four, each member was a unique individual.

That being said, each of the four Huntsmen did have differentiating features. On the far right was a handsome young man with shoulder length dark-brown hair, matching eyebrows and anchor beard and mustache, standing at 6'5". The feather in his hat was a crimson red, which complimented the pieces of crimson coloured silk incorporated in his doublet, as well as the sash that was partially tucked into his sword belt. His left hand, which naturally rested on the hilt of his sword, was gauntleted up to the elbow in azure-blue painted metal trimmed with gold. To his right was a young man about his stature, with silver tipped black hair that past his shoulders, and was tied in a thick braid. He had a handlebar mustache and chin puff beard coloured in the same manner, which complimented the grey feather in his hat, as well as the silver religious pins attached to his doublet. His eyes were a calming aqua, which amplified his soothing demeanor. The third Huntsman was a burly man with very muscular arms that appeared to nearly burst through his doublet. He had wavy copper hair, matching petit handlebar mustache and petit goatee, and hazel eyes. His attire was fancier than his teammates, with many more combinations of fine silks and jewelry; topped off with an orange feather in his hat. Even his capelet was trimmed with gold, which matched his buttons and buckles. If he was trying to stand out from his friends, he was certainly succeeding, though he was already the tallest of the four; just slightly. Lastly on the far left, was a clean shaven man who was both the youngest and the shortest at 6'2". He had long straight black hair tied in a high ponytail, matching onyx eyes, and a white feather in his hat. His capelet was a complementing white, along with his breeches, and ivory buttons on his doublet. Despite being the youngest of the four, he seemed to be the most serious; or at least had the sternest face.

Adjacent to these four was another team of Huntsmen. On the far left was a tall red-haired man with a short boxed beard and emerald eyes, clad in a green tunic with matching green suede breeches, brown leather knee high boots, and leather gloves with a bracer attached to his left forearm. He wore a green bycocket hat with a red feather in it, and a deep green ranger cloak draped on his shoulders, fastened with a silver tree clasp. Despite its length, it did not hide his dark green brigandine armour, which had silver rivets setting the plates, and six leather straps; two on his shoulders and four down the middle. At his left hip was a longsword, and on his back was a large warbow with an accompanying quiver filled with arrows. Beside him was a giant of a man; a Grizzly Bear Faunus standing at a daunting 6'8". He was incredible muscular, even more so than the richly covered swordsman, made obvious by his barrel chest, and arms that could be mistaken for tree trunks. He had neatly cut reddish-brown hair accompanied by a pair of bear ears, matching long sideburns, and chocolate-brown eyes. He wore a simple cotton shirt, green jerkin and short hooded mantle, simple heavy slacks, large hard leather boots, and a hefty belt fastened at his waist adorned with many pouches. Across his back was an impressive quarterstaff that was over nine feet long. It appeared to be made of wood, but any Huntsmen worth their salt knew that it was made of some sort of refined metal.

To his left was a shorter Fox Faunus with tanned skin, and a perfectly trimmed pencil mustache on his face. His long pointed red ears protruded from a black sombrero cordobés, which matched his fiery red hair that was swept back, and halted just above the shoulders. His eyes were a captivating gold, which held a mischievousness that only strengthened his handsome features. As a contrast to his compatriots, the Faunus was clad entirely in black. Over his shoulders was a black cloak, fasten by a silver chain with a fox-head clasp; also made of silver with ruby eyes. He wore black leather gloves, matching black leather knee-high boots with silver spurs and curved rowels, black breeches, and a black Don Juan cotton shirt behind a meticulously crafted cuirass. On his waist was an ornately engraved black leather belt, which he rested his hands on as he stood with his team. At his left hip was a rapier with a beautiful swept hilt, the quillons and arms appearing almost flowerlike, and a matching parrying dagger on the right hip. Beside the dagger was an 1851 Navy Colt revolver converted into centerfire, holstered in a cavalry draw, with several leather pouches resting at the base of his back.

At last to his left was a thinner man with long flowing red hair with streaks of green, groomed neatly beneath a dark green renaissance beret adorned with long rooster, pheasant, ostrich, long-tailed widowbird, and ribbon-tailed astrapia tails feathers. He had amber coloured eyes, red eyebrows, and a red brett beard with the hair below his lip and chin mixed with green. He wore an ornate doublet coloured with greens, blues, and golds, with the placket opened to reveal the red shirt underneath. Despite being left open, it was held together with string, stitched between golden buttons. The sleeves were padded with wide cuffs that revealed his bare hands that were decorated with many golden and silver rings, each with their own unique gemstone. He wore tan suede breeches that were tucked into fine calfskin leather boots, polished to a mirror sheen, and a long dark red mantle that draped over his shoulders. While separating himself from the others by his fine dress alone, what truly stood out, at least to the eyes of Huntsmen, was that he carried no weapons; instead there was a beautifully crafted lute strapped across his back. This cemented the young man's appearance to that of a bard rather than a Huntsman, but like his Bear Faunus teammate, his tool must certainly be more than it appeared.

The final touch that united all eight of these young Huntsmen, was that their capelets, mantles, and capes, were emblazoned with the Mistral Kingdom Arms, as they wanted all who met them to know they were proud of their homeland. For it was now, more than ever, that their pride had brought them before the Huntmaster of Beacon Academy.

"Sorry for the delay, Oz; bad traffic" apologized Qrow. "Allow me to introduce Team RROI of Haven." He gestured with his right hand to the Cavalier themed team. "Captain Olivier Rouge" he pointed to the red feathered man "Lieutenant René Argent" the silver feathered man "Pierre d'Ocre" the orange feathered man "and Ivoire Castelmore" pointing to the white feathered man. "And Team LION, also from Haven with Captain Robin Loxley" he gestured to the bowman "Lieutenant Ian Oak" the Grizzly Faunus "Diego Iglesias" the Fox Faunus "and Allen O'Nottingham" to the minstrel. The hat wearing Huntsmen removed them and bowed low, whereas Ian merely nodded politely.

"Thank you, Qrow, though there is no need for introductions" Ozpin said with a smile, extending his hand to Olivier. "I have met these young men before, two years ago in Mistral when I attended the Vytal Festival there, if I'm not mistaken, where I had a lovely chat with Mr. Rouge in private."

"Yes, sir. I am humbled that you remembered me."

"You make it very difficult to forget you; especially with taking such a hard fought victory that year, as well as dominating in the league. When I saw that both your team and Team LION were deployed within Vale, I knew that you gentlemen would be of great help to me."

"Je vous remercie (I thank you). It is a great honour to be called to serve, Huntmaster" Olivier said graciously. "My comrades and I thank you deeply in considering us to aid in, as your colleague has alluded to, 'a dire situation regarding the Kingdoms of Vale and Mistral'. If this is true, then we shall gladly heed the call."

"I extend my gratitude as well, Huntmaster Ozpin" Robin added with bright smile, shaking his hand. "We cannot turn away when the Kingdom is threatened."

"And for that, I cannot thank you enough" replied Ozpin honestly, returning their bows. "However, I would ask you to wait to hear what task I have for you before accepting."

"Better make it quick" advised Qrow as he made his way to the minibar.

"Time could have been saved if you had simply told us beforehand" pointed out Ivoire, annoyed by the younger Branwen's unwillingness to divulge them of the details.

"This is a very sensitive matter; both in subject and in time" explained the silver-haired Huntsman. "The very fact that we need your help was in and of itself, a last minute gamble. We were unsure if we could even find you in time, and my friend has only by the skin of his teeth brought you here. This is why I cannot go into great detail of what is going on, but simply say that we require your help, and you must act now; for the safety of both Vale and Mistral."

"That much we know, but perhaps you can tell us, at the very least, what this threat towards our Kingdoms is" offered Diego.

"Have any of you been paying attention to the tournament?"

"We would have loved to, but given our orders to patrol the outer territories of your Kingdom, we could neither watch nor listen" answered Olivier. "Which is truly a shame, as our dear Pyrrha is competing for the first time this year."

"Given how pointless the patrol was, we should have just stayed in the capital" muttered Pierre. "We were given orders to patrol the northernmost rim of the Kingdom to aid the border guard divisions with any and all Grimm activity. When we got close to our objective, we were told by the Valian military to turn back without explanation. Instead, we stayed put at one of the bases over a hundred miles from the northern forests. "

"That's my one moment of good luck for the year" Qrow laughed coldly, pouring himself some bourbon. "It's because they stayed put I was actually able to find them."

"And it was a long ride back to Albion, which you did not take advantage of by explaining why you came to recruit us in the first place" Ivoire pointed out once again.

"Oz."

"Since you have not been keeping score, there is only one remaining team from Mistral" continued the Huntmaster, reaching into his jacket pocket.

"Pity that" remarked Robin.

Ozpin held up his Scroll revealing Team CLME.

"Do you recognize these students?" The seniors gazed at the portraits and frowned, shaking their heads. "These are not students of Haven; they are enemy spies and assassins impersonating as your countrymen to launch an attack on Albion from within."

The Mistralese all froze at the news, before a palpable killing intent emanated from them; barely able to contain their fury over such an outrage.

"What would you have us do, Grand Veneur? (Huntmaster)" Olivier said firmly, his face focused and cold, but his green eyes were alive with fire. "Subdue them? Join your men to confront them?"

"Not in the way you may think" corrected Ozpin. "I need you to enter the Vytal Tournament."

The Havenites turned to one another confused, before looking back at the silver-haired Huntmaster.

"We don't understand, sir" admitted Robin. "Why would we confront the enemy as competitors? Are we to offer them a sportsmen's bout while they plan to attack? If not, then to defeat them without arousing suspicion with their co-conspirators is too late, as the Doubles Round is well underway. We cannot enter now."

"You are correct, but only in part. The enemy believes they are completely in control of the situation; we wish to keep them believing that. General Ironwood has been coordinating with our own military forces, which was why you were turned away from your patrol. Fear not, for they shall deal with the bulk of the enemy. However, the more prized pawns within our city are our major concern. We must remove them as quietly as possible so not to plunge the civilians into terror. To do so, we must both play along with the assassins to avoid them realizing they have been discovered, pushing them no more than we dare to, and give the General enough wiggle room to repulse the enemy forces. I have chosen you to take part in this secret mission because you all exemplify the defining qualities of Mistral: honour, virtue, and loyalty. Will you accept this task?"

"And how does this remove the enemy without alerting them?" asked Olivier rightly. "We enter the tournament, a suspicious act in and of itself, and defeat them there? How does the enemy not realize they have been foiled?"

"Because you will not be facing them; you will be facing my students and Blanco's today in the Doubles Round, and them again in the Singles tomorrow; matches that you will throw" explained Ozpin. The senior students stood there as if each of them had been slapped with wet fish.

"This plan is madness" René commented, no longer sure if Ozpin knew what he was doing.

"As I said, the enemy _must_ continue to believe they have us unaware of their plans. We must continue to lure into the trap we have set for them, but also give General Ironwood's forces time to completely clear out the enemy outside of the tournament _without_ the civilians knowing. We _must_ keep them in the dark of the danger they are in. It is less than honourable and less than desirable, I fully acknowledge that, but we have no choice. General Ironwood has stressed that if we do not uproot the foothold the enemy has taken on our shores now and cleanly, we may lose this chance forever, and allow the bulk of the enemy forces to regroup. I trust him, and he has my full support. He is doing his part, and I am doing mine."

Both teams remained silent, mulling over Ozpin's dire words; their weight growing by the second. It was Captain Olivier, who at last spoke, posing a question that sucked all the air out of the room.

"Then, it is war?"

"No, not yet, and I pray to the Gods that it will not come for a good while longer" the Huntmaster expressed. "But I cannot and will not lie to you; what these invaders are doing _is_ an act of war, and an attempt to spark a new world war. So I ask you all one last time, will you help us?"

Teams RROI and LION were quiet once more, and were about to discuss the matter with one another in whisper, when there was a knock at the door. All present turned as it opened just enough for the knocker to stick their head in.

"Huntmaster, the match has concluded" Winter said in an urgent tone.

"We are out of time" said Ozpin. "I need your answer now."

The teams eyed one another in silence, but the looks they gave were knowing ones, and they communicated without words. Then, in unison, the swordsmen all drew their swords and held them in front of their faces; the tops of the hilts just below their chins.

"For the honour and glory Mistral, we will fight" they said, with Ian and Allen bowing.

Qrow smirked behind his glass. 'You've got a way with words, Oz, like always.'

"And for that of Vale. Thank you, gentlemen" Ozpin replied, smiling graciously. "Now, listen carefully to the plan, for I only have the time to hastily say it once..."

λΛλ

In the stands, Ruby was on her feet, clapping happily before taking a deep breath to shout.

"Way to go, Penny!"

The ginger robot, able to hear her friend over the cheers of the crowd, turned and waved enthusiastically.

"Well that's another friend of ours in the finals" remarked Yang. "She'll be fun to fight."

"Yes, I think so as well" added Pyrrha, genuinely fascinated by the Atlassian girl's abilities, seeming to control the swords attached to her back. Was it her Semblance or was it the weapon itself?

"If you get the chance to" grinned Sun. "When I fight her, I'll land a couple hits for you, OK, Nikos?"

"As if you'll beat us" Nora shot back, leaning across Ren to stare down her next opponent.

"Save it for the match" eased Ren, though he couldn't suppress a blush caused by how close she was.

"Be careful out there" said Weiss, looking at her friends before her eyes rested on Neptune. "All of you." The blue-haired Vacuan smiled and nodded curtly, squeezing her hand in thanks.

"Shall we go to our starting positions?" asked Pyrrha.

"Why not? It's not like we need to wait for them to announce the final match" reasoned Sun, and he prepared to stand, before hearing Ozpin's voice boom throughout the Coliseum.

"Good afternoon everyone, I hope that you are all enjoying the tournament thus far" he said, earning cheers and boos. "Yes yes I understand, not everyone is too pleased with having their Kingdom's teams lose. In fact, I understand the feeling so well, that I think that we should make things even more...entertaining. I am sure you are looking forward to the next match between Teams JNPR and SSSN?" This time the crowd cheered in unison, regardless of their Kingdom of origin. "Good. I am as well, and I couldn't help but notice that the match will be a two versus two. Rather obvious of course, but I also noticed that Team SSSN is the last of the four from Shade, and it would be far more interesting to see Miss Nikos and Mr. Wukong face one on one, would it not? Therefore, why don't we make things more...interesting?"

The crowd, along with Teams RWBY, JNPR, and SSSN, were obviously confused by what the Huntmaster was saying. Cinder and her co-conspirators on the other hand had snapped to attention, locking eyes with the silver-haired professor.

"What's he doing?" asked Emerald, not hiding her concern. Cinder immediately pulled out her tablet, and began to tap away furiously.

"While it does feel rather good to take the wind out of dear Leonardo's sails, I cannot help but feel a small bit of guilt since we here at Beacon, took on who would have been his star pupil" Ozpin continued. "Therefore, I suggest that we give both Mistral, and Vacuo a chance to shine. Two teams from Mistral have been selected to join and face Teams JNPR and SSSN; two teams that I believe will not only give us a riveting set of matches, but that our Mistralese spectators, both here today and watching at home, will approve of. Allow me to introduce them and whom they shall be facing. Pyrrha Nikos and Nora Valkyrie of Team JNPR of Beacon will face René Argent and Pierre d'Ocre of Team RROI of Haven."

The holoscreens flashed and showed the new matchups, with Pyrrha and Nora on the left, and René and Pierre on the right. While the crowd was confused, both the Mistralese and the Atlassians began to cheer in approval, clearly recognizing the two senior Huntsmen-in-training. Pyrrha recognized them as well, and gasped with eyes wide the moment they were announced.

"What's wrong?" asked Jaune, already worried about this new change in the tournament, but was now even more on edge with how loudly she had gasped.

"Th-Those are my upperclassmen from Mistral" she explained. "They're four years older than me, and they should be on the cusp of graduating from Haven as full Huntsmen. I trained with them while I was at Sanctum, and during my final year there, I was allowed to go with them on a number of Hunts. What are they doing here?"

"What is Huntmaster Ozpin doing is what I want to know" stated Yang rightly. "The way this tournament has gone has been weird enough, now he's doing this."

"As happy as I am for not having to go up against a girl that gets stronger from being hit by my weapon, I'm not exactly thrilled to fight seniors" admitted Neptune, scratching his chin uneasily.

"And Sun Wukong and Neptune Vasilias of Team SSSN of Shade will be against Ian Oak and Allen O'Nottingham of Team LION of Haven" finished Ozpin, with the screen changing to reveal the second match.

"Them too..." breathed the redhead.

"Them too?" echoed Jaune.

"Team RROI and LION are close friends, and always travel together, much like us and Team RWBY. I've trained with them both in and out of school, and I look up to each of them. I wonder if Wilhelm has come with them to Vale as well."

"Greaaaat. We're going up against the people that trained Pyrrha Nikos" Neptune groaned, leaning back into his seat.

"We can take'em" reassured the blond Faunus. "And if we beat'em, then we got this tournament in the bag, since Nikos will be easy in comparison."

The blue-haired lieutenant sighed and eyed his future opponents pensively, trying to anticipate what they would be like in the arena.

"You gonna be OK?" Jaune asked, eyeing Pyrrha carefully.

"I think so" she replied slowly, trying to keep her face unreadable. "I just hope that I improved enough since the last time we trained." While she was being truthful, her mind was desperately trying to understand what exactly Ozpin was doing. 'This must be the plan he was talking about' she thought. 'But how in the names of the Gods does this deal with the imposters? Why are _we_ being set to fight against my mentors?'

This was a valid thought, as it made far more sense that if they were to bend the rules and insert ringers, then those ringers would go against the fraudulent competitors. Indeed, Pyrrha was well aware of the impressive skills of her countrymen, and she had full confidence in them defeating Cinder Fall and her pawns; especially if Fall herself was no longer competing. Any pair from either team would have easily wiped the floor with Black and Sustrai, and if they took part in the Teams Round, then CLME would have been fully subdued. So why were they being used now? Of course, Pyrrha was unaware of the details of the Order's plan, nor did she know how desperate the Order currently was. This allowed her mind to race, trying to make sense of the situation, despite it being too late to ponder.

"Will Team JNPR and Team RROI please make their way to the arena" announced Port, doing his part.

Pyrrha and Nora rose to their feet, and made their way to Valian arena entrance; their friends and lovers watching them go. In the Mistral quarter, Emerald, Mercury, and Neo waited in tense hesitation as Cinder continued to examine her tablet.

"Well?" asked the green-haired thief nervously.

"There's nothing that suggests that the trojan has been detected or manipulated" Cinder confirmed, her eyes darting across the screen. "They aren't aware of our plan."

"Then why are they adding fighters? Senior students from Mistral no less" added Mercury, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"I don't know. It's very suspicious" the false-Maiden admitted, closing the tablet and looking at the new match on the holoscreen. She stared in silence, mulling over the change and trying to decipher what was going on behind the scenes. After a few more moments, she spoke at last. "We'll let things play out."

"What?" the two vocal members of her team said in unison.

"There's nothing we can do to regain control of the situation" Cinder explained slowly. "Regardless, we weren't planning to begin seeping our poison until the Singles bracket. That will be tomorrow, so all we will do is sit and watch."

"But what if they take out Nikos? What if that's the plan to get around our trojan?" argued Mercury. "But then Ozpin said that he's trying to get both her and the monkey to the Singles. Are they drunk?"

"That's why we need to wait and see. It's because of those contradicting points that makes me question if we've truly been compromised or not" Cinder reasoned, crossing her legs. "If anything, we use this time to get a better look at Nikos. You said she was holding back...this could give us a better idea of what she can really do under pressure; and how to break her under pressure. You just need to worry about your match against the bimbo tomorrow. There will be no hiccups with that, will there?"

Her cold eyes moved leftward to enforce what she was truly saying; the power of her gaze communicating her intentions. The kick-boxer shifted again, his arms folded across his chest. Ever since his match with Yatsuhashi, he had been very careful to hide how much damage he had actually taken. From his guess, he felt he had a few cracked ribs and at least one broken. He had underestimated the power of the older Huntsman-in-training, and let his guard down too far in trying to sell the match. He was in a great deal of pain, he couldn't deny that, but he would not say a word of it aloud. In the end, it didn't matter, for he was very much accustomed to suffering.

"None" he replied, glad to turn his attention to the emerging combatants.

Neo silently watched Mercury and Cinder as she always did, taking care to not bring attention to herself. She did everything in her power to not show it, but she was very much disturbed by this change in the tournament. She, more than Emerald and Mercury, knew how much was at stake. She was normally very good at reading people, but she was unable to tell if Cinder was actually unconcerned with the sudden change, or was just talented enough to hide it. While Neo hadn't known Cinder for long, she was very aware than when the half-Maiden was unhappy with something or someone, she would make it abundantly clear. And yet, the mute girl was not soothed. Slowly turning her parasol in her hands, she looked to the arena, hoping that disaster was not on the horizon.

λΛλ

As the redheaded duo walked towards the battlegrounds, Nora looked over to her friend, and noticed she was slightly tense.

"You OK?" she asked.

Pyrrha blinked in surprise as she looked at the ginger.

"Oh, I'm alright, thank you. I'm just a tad nervous."

"You? Nervous? Why?"

"Well, as I said before, these are my upperclassmen. I trained with them, and I look up to them with as much reverence then as I do now. I hoped that I would see them again, but I also wanted to greatly improve my skills before then" she echoed, though she was still musing over what Ozpin was thinking by interfering like this.

He had told her that they could not simply arrest Cinder and her lackeys, for fear of scaring off Adam Taurus and whoever else was involved. Then why was he affecting the tournament seedings by introducing new combatants? It was particularly frustrating for her, because she was genuinely excited to see and fight her countrymen. It would be an incredibly fun match, the hardest of the tournament without question, and she wouldn't need to hold back as much as she usually did. That excitement was intertwined with the fear of what the enemy was planning, and despite being informed by the Order, she still felt left in the dark; seeing things that might not even be there.

Perhaps for now she could swallow that fear, and enjoy herself before the real challenge began in the Singles bracket. After all, if she were to go against Mercury Black as she hoped, then she would be able to unleash her fury and remove at least one of the dark agents. In the wake of Team CFVY's defeat and Coco's injuries, she _very much_ wanted to avenge her upperclassmen, paying the enemy back in full. As always, only the Gods knew the truth and what lay ahead.

As the two vixens entered the arena and walked to their starting position, they saw their opponents were walking towards them in tandem; smiling and eager. Upon seeing her countrymen, the Champion of Mistral felt a soothing happiness wash over her. It eased her fears to see her mentors after so long, as well as alleviate a feeling of homesickness she hadn't felt until learning they were in Vale.

"Good afternoon, René! Pierre!" Pyrrha called with a smile of her own.

"Ah, bon après midi, Pyrrha!" replied René, removing his hat and bowing, with Pierre doing the same. "It's wonderful to see you again after all this time. You appear to be doing well. May the Light of the Northern Star illuminate your path."

"And may it shine brightly for you as well" she replied accordingly, returning the bow. "What brings you to Vale?"

"We were tasked with patrolling the north as part of the final missions before graduation. However, when we arrived, we were informed that our services were no longer required" René answered honestly. "We decided to return to the capital, and in doing so, we were offered to take part in the tournament. Oh, forgive my manners. Hello to you and many blessings, Miss Valkyrie."

"Thank you, you too" the ginger said bowing exaggeratedly, not knowing how to respond, but meant well.

"I can't say I'm too happy with the turn out this year" Pierre commented, referring to Mistral's performance during the tournament, running his tongue across the top row of his teeth. "It's a real shame that you decided to attend Beacon instead of Haven."

"Don't pressure the girl" defended the pious swordsman. "She can train wherever she wishes."

"You'll come back, won't you?"

"Of course I will" Pyrrha replied smiling. "Mistral is my home and I will never abandon her."

"Then that's good enough for me" the muscular swordsman nodded approvingly, satisfied with her response. While they spoke, the new biomes had been selected: forests, stormy mountains, desert, and geyser.

"Fighters ready" announced Oobleck, causing all four to draw their weapons. "Three...two...one...BEGIN!"

Pyrrha and René charged at one another with surprising speed, striking simultaneously with an audible clash of steel, before flying past. They then spun round to face each other, both with grins on their faces, and then rested into their natural battle stances. Pyrrha took her iconic High Guard with Akoúo held in front of her, and Miló held above, pointing towards her opponent, whereas René took a L'Abbat stance; his rapier held chest height and pointed slightly upward in his right hand, and his left hand held behind him, arm bent and pointed to the sky.

During this engagement, Nora had run at Pierre and jumped, before bringing down Magnhild onto her opponent. The taller ginger merely took a step backward, allowing the blow to strike the tiles of the arena, which sent shrapnel in all directions. Nora managed to look up in time to see Pierre bring down his rapier in a two-handed stroke, and she spun clockwise to her left to avoid it. She then used the momentum of the spin to swing her hammer at Pierre's back, where he performed a perfectly timed back flip, allowing the head of the hammer to harmlessly hit his capelet. He landed on his feet, and without hesitation, performed a powerful lunging thrust, which Nora barely managed to block, and nearly shouted in surprise as she was pushed back nearly twenty feet.

'Whoa...he's strong' she thought, and her excitement grew, knowing she was going to have a lot of fun.

In the reserved seating, Teams RWBY and SSSN, along with the remainder of Team JNPR, watched the match with intense focus.

"Oh, this is going to be an amazing match!" said Weiss gleefully, surprising the others.

"Why? Pyrrha and Nora _could_ lose" Yang pointed out honestly, not liking the idea of having her match with the Mistralese champion taken from her.

"But _that_ is why it is so exciting!" the heiress argued with a smile. "Pyrrha finally has some true competition; up against such talented swordsmen like the members of Team RROI."

"What? Are they famous athletes like her? I've never heard of them" admitted Sun.

"Not at all; at least, they aren't the _same_ kind of athlete" Weiss explained. "Both the Kingdoms of Atlas and Mistral have dueling leagues for swordsmanship. They are fiercely competitive, and are constantly drawing swordsmen and women from across the continent. My sister was a top competitor for years before she dedicated herself to her military service. Each member of Team RROI are currently active in the rankings, and have been climbing up them at a truly impressive pace."

"Right, I remember Pyrrha talking about Atlas' and Mistral's dueling culture" recalled Jaune, becoming intrigued by this revelation. "It makes sense now that they all trained together. Where are they placed now?"

"I don't know" the rapierist sighed, annoyed with herself. "I've been so preoccupied with school and training that I haven't kept track as I normally do. I used to maintain a very close eye on the leagues, though I stopped checking the rankings ever since I decided to enroll into Beacon. I can easily assume they have only risen, if their Huntsmen qualifying exams haven't taken up all their availability, that is."

"What about Team LION?" asked Neptune.

"Diego is up there, of course, though the others are not, given they aren't swordsmen. Robin Loxley is a swordsman, obviously so, but he is far better known for wielding a warbow, and has never taken part in the leagues."

"As fun as all of this sounds..." began Yang, folding her arms, "I'm actually worried about how this match is going to go. Pyrrha might be able to beat her opponent, but I don't think Nora will."

"Yes. She's a bit wild to put it mildly" added Blake. "Against a more disciplined and experience opponent, her bad habits will come to bite her. It doesn't help that she can't just take hits like she normally does, since that Pierre guy looks pretty strong. She's tough alright, but not _that_ tough. In my opinion, this is a bad match up for Nora." Ren shifted in his seat at that diagnosis, not wanting to see the bubbly ginger get hurt. "And then what happens if Pyrrha can't beat René in time? Can she take on _two_ highly experienced senior students? She hasn't trained with them in a long time, so what she knows may not be enough."

While the Cat Faunus spoke, Jaune maintained his focus on the match, shifting between the two redheads, and trying his best to discern how they were progressing. Despite this, he had been listening to every word Blake had said, and they did not give him confidence. He knew just how talented Pyrrha was, and couldn't imagine her losing to anyone, but he had to ask himself was it because he _knew_ that, or he _felt_ it because she was the woman that loved him.

"What do you think, Jaune?" asked Neptune.

The blond didn't look away from the match, but replied in a steady tone.

"Pyrrha will win; so will Nora."

"You saying that because you know they're good enough or because Pyrrha's your girl and Nora's your friend?" asked the blonde brawler, hitting the nail on the head as she always did.

The young Knight sat silently for a moment before answering. "Both."

The others looked at the boys of Team JNPR, and understood just how worried they were without putting it into words.

"Well...act honestly, and answer boldly, as my dad says" Yang sighed, returning her gaze to the match.

In the arena, the battles went on as to be expected. Pyrrha and René were dead even, at least to most watching, whereas Nora was having difficulty with Pierre. His strength was proving to be more than a match to the shorter ginger's normally unmatched brawn, which to Nora's credit, was excited by it. Pyrrha had actually abandoned the fear that had been snaking its way through her soul, becoming entirely absorbed with the fight. It had truly been too long since she fought a serious match. For fear of hurting her opponent, Pyrrha had always restrained herself in her time as an athlete; more so after awakening Polarity. Now, she was finally allowed to use more of her true strength without having to bridle herself. The fact that it was one of her mentors facing her, made it all the more comforting, and she couldn't suppress an eager smile from firmly plastering itself onto her face.

And yet, she could sense that something was off, which caused the question of what was Ozpin thinking by asking them to enter the tournament, to resurface.

She blocked a thrust from René, before sliding Miló down his rapier till their guards locked, and she pushed, which the older Mistralese resisted; as she hoped he would. Locking swords was a good way to get one's self killed, but she did it purposely so that she could speak with him.

"Is something wrong, René?" she asked with a slight hint of goading in her voice. "If I didn't know any better, I would accuse you of holding back."

The holy swordsman smirked at her words.

"If I am, it is simply to test your skills and see just how much you have improved since our last match, my dear" he lied, trying to play it off as naturally as possible. Unfortunately, the man was just as bad a liar as she was due to their shared devotion to their faith, and Pyrrha realized it instantly. They quickly traded blows and parries, before she purposely locked blades once more.

"You _are_ holding back" she accused, her earlier fears returning in force. René saw the emotion in her eyes, and felt his guilt mount.

"My dear Pyrrha, to accuse me of such a–"

"This is about Huntmaster Ozpin's plan to deal with the imposters" she stated, not wishing to beat around the bush any further. The silver-feathered swordsman froze, realizing his underclassman knew of the secret mission. Pyrrha, knowing she had to play along, swiped at René with Akoúo, who thankfully managed to lean out of the way, and then parried the follow up with Miló, which he riposted out of reflex. The redhead blocked the strike, and took a stance just out of range. "I'm correct, aren't I?"

"How do you know of this?" he asked cautiously.

"I was approached to help yesterday, and I think I know more than you do" she replied honestly. "However, I wasn't told what exactly the Huntmaster was planning to deal with Cinder Fall and her cohorts; merely that he and the General had _a_ plan in motion. How do you and others fit into all of this?"

René sighed, knowing there was no point in lying any further.

"We were asked to defend the Kingdom of Vale by aiding Huntmaster Ozpin in dealing with the invaders you mentioned."

"Then why are you facing us and Team SSSN?" Pyrrha asked rightly.

"We must prolong the tournament to give General Ironwood enough time to remove all invaders."

"I don't understand. How does this protect the Kingdom when the enemy is here in the tournament? Why aren't you or the others facing them instead of us? Will you be facing them tomorrow? None of this makes sense."

"I know, Pyrrha" René admitted mournfully. "We hardly understand it ourselves, but we know that we must give the Huntmasters time to execute their plan properly. Our job is merely to put on a proper performance for the audience to distract them and the enemy."

Pyrrha frowned. "What do you mean?"

"We will face you and your friends, but ultimately, we will throw the matches, allowing you all to continue on" he explained at last.

The redhead's mouth fell open in shock, allowing the senior Havenite to strike at her, which she barely managed to block. They began to trade parries and ripostes, but the young woman was not able to let this explanation be the end of the conversation.

"That is the plan? To merely put on a charade to entertain the enemy without fighting them?" she asked incredulously. "How under the Light does this protect the innocent of Vale?"

"I cannot say more. I was not even aware that you knew of the situation, and I hoped to wait for my moment to bow out believably without you being the wiser" René confessed, sending a kick for Pyrrha's head, who ducked it cleanly. "Please forgive us, Pyrrha. We do this for the honour of Mistral, and to protect the lives of her people, and of Vale's. We will swallow our pride, tarnish our records, and ridicule ourselves to save the souls of the innocent. We have faith in the Huntmasters. Will you put your faith in us?"

'Faith...' she thought, almost wanting to laugh in frustration. 'Faith is the very core to all of this. I'm certain the Order have told them nothing of the truth, what the enemy are truly after, and how much is actually as stake. I understand why they are keeping them in the dark, but what _is_ their plan to remove Cinder and her fellow assassins?'

It was that factor that kept Pyrrha in such a state of turmoil. She had no idea what Ozpin was planning, and being asked to play dumb, left her feeling beyond helpless. Furthermore, seeing Coco badly hurt, had made her feel so sick and guilty, she would have vomited if her anger hadn't risen above it. Of course there was the added stress of lying to Jaune and the others, as she saw it as if she was betraying them. It almost gave the impression that a game was being play, and a very dangerous one at that. Pyrrha understood the incredible gamble Ozpin and the Order were taking by opening up to her, but they were taking an equally risky gamble by allowing assassins to walk amongst the civilians. Was this all just a test of faith? Or was it a test to prove her devotion by facing evil whilst being paralyzed by fear? She had managed to compose herself after spending hours at the Naos praying the day before, and succeeded in achieving a mostly restful sleep. However, after seeing Coco's bloodied head, and hearing of Ozpin's sudden request of her countrymen's help, the seeds of doubt were beginning to sow.

Nevertheless, the redhead breathed deeply to steady herself, and looked her former upperclassman in the eyes.

"I will" she said with effort, "but what are we going to do about Nora? She knows nothing of this, and I honestly don't believe I could convince her to play along without revealing the truth."

"That we shall leave to Pierre" reassured René, genuinely grateful that Pyrrha was being agreeable. "I trust him to know when the moment will come to take a dive."

"I hope so, because Nora has no idea how to pull her punches. When she wants to break something, she does."

René couldn't help chuckling at that.

"I think those two will become good friends when this is over."

λΛλ

Despite the fact that the fight between Nora and Pierre was staged, it did not mean that either participant was not fighting seriously. Nora was obviously giving it her all, and was both frustrated and exhilarated at how tough of an opponent the Mistralese swordsman was. She was used to being the physically strongest, but Pierre was a complete match to her power, and was even able to block strikes from Magnhild. Was it simply because he was a powerhouse, or was this the power of a near fully fledged Huntsman? As for Pierre, he was indeed taking the match seriously in the sense of following the plan, though he was a tad disappointed that his opponent was nowhere near as strong as Pyrrha, let alone himself.

Trying to shift her strategy, Nora put some distance between herself and her opponent, and transformed her hammer into its grenade launcher configuration. She began to rain fire onto the swordsman, who evaded each shot safe for the last. To both the shock of the crowd and the shorter ginger, Pierre caught the projectile with his left hand, and nonchalantly threw it over his shoulder. He looked at Nora unamused as it exploded, not appreciating her changing tactics.

"Don't start trying to be overcautious" he jeered, cracking his neck. "Let's just fight straight and honest."

Of course the final statement was dishonest given what was going on behind the scenes, Nora did nevertheless agree with him. She wanted nothing more than to just charge in and fight head to head, but she had taken Jaune's strategic advice to heart, and wanted to make sure that Pyrrha would continue onward to the Singles bracket. She opened Magnhild to eject the spend rounds, and with decent speed, reloaded the chambers of the launcher. Nora then began to sprint towards Pierre, but instead of returning her weapon to its hammer configuration, she fired two rounds, aiming just before the swordsman. The grenades destroyed the tiles of the arena in front of Pierre, knocking up a plume of smoke and dust, obscuring his view of the battlefield. Nora then jumped into the air, transforming her launcher, and came down at full strength to land a powerful blow onto the unsuspecting strongman. Magnhild made contact, and the ground beneath Pierre cracked and broke, showing just how powerful the attack had been. A grin began to grow on Nora's face, but it froze. Her eyes began to widen as the smoke cleared, revealing that Pierre had caught the hammer, and it was just the energy of the blow that had gone through him into the ground. The copper-haired senior student looked up at the shocked hammeress, and grinned at her playfully.

"My turn" he said simply, and with Homeric strength spun, ironically like a hammer thrower, and hurled Nora towards the mountain biome as if she weighed nothing at all. Taken aback by the action, Nora hadn't tried to correct herself in flight, and painfully crashed into the stone. In the reserved seating of the Valian quarter, Teams RWBY, JNPR, and SSSN, tensed in their seats with shock.

"Did he really just _catch_ her hammer?" asked Yang, stunned.

"Yeah. What a tough bastard" Sun remarked, as he watched Pierre nonchalantly walk towards the mountain biome after his opponent.

Jaune, who was watching the match with his lips pressed into his fingers while propping up his arms on his knees, noticed to his left that Ren had lurched forward. The normally tranquil young man now had a pained expression on his face, unable to hide his worry for Nora's wellbeing. Indeed, her safety mattered more to him than her winning or losing the match, even though he knew she would reverse the order of those concerns. While the idea of Nora losing was somewhat absurd to Ren, knowing the skill level of her opponent, and just now witnessing him withstand a full power attack and chuck her like a stone, caused fear to grow within his heart.

Nora groaned as she sat up, trying to get her bearings.

"Owwww" she winced as she reached to grab her hammer. "So fighting smart wasn't smart, and fighting straight up wasn't smart either. What do I have to do to beat this guy?" As she watched the muscular rapierist close the distance between them, an idea struck her like a clap of thunder. Well, it was thunder itself that struck her with an idea, as she looked up to see storm clouds gathering above her. "Oh" she realized. "Oooooooh! That'll work!"

"I hope you haven't decided to give up already, kid" Pierre asked, casually holding his sword by his side.

Nora rolled backward, pressing her palms on the cold rocky ground, and eagerly performed a kip-up to get onto her feet.

"Are you kidding me? I'm just getting started!" she replied grinning.

Pierre grinned back, very much appreciative of her enthusiasm.

"That's the spirit" he encouraged, performing a sword flourish before taking a Bolognese-Marozzo stance with his right foot forward, his left hand on his hip, and his sword held low almost in a Fool's Guard.

It was here that Nora noticed that the copper-haired Huntsman-in-training's sword had a thicker blade than his teammate's. And while it was beyond her knowledge, it was thicker than the average rapier. Furthermore, the sword possessed another trait that diverted it from the rapier family. It had a two-handed handle, which extended past the knuckle guard of the swept hilt; something that would cause any swordsman to blink in confusion. Nonetheless, this did complement the man perfectly; a beefier sword for a beefier Huntsman. It was, nevertheless, a beautiful sword, matching Pierre's overly lavish attire. Interestingly, the fuller of the sword was not left empty, as was the point of a fuller, but instead was inlaid with copper. Of all possible metals to adorn a sword with, copper was not one that came screaming to mind. And yet, copper was indeed there, no doubt the young man's decision, for it to compliment his own hair colour.

Pierre then lunged with impressive speed, which Nora managed to block, this time taking care to dig in her heels, and was not pushed back. She countered with a two-handed thrust with Magnhild, striking with the top of the hammer, to which Pierre blocked with the flat of his blade, supported with his left palm on the Debole; the first half of his sword. He too did not buckle from the blow, and pushed the hammeress back with a grunt, who slid backward, but only a yard or so. The pair continued to exchange blows, though both were aiming for different goals. Pierre was obviously trying to provoke a risky but powerful attack from Nora so that he could take a believable fall, granting her the victory. Nora on the other hand knew that her options were limited, but decided on merging both battle strategies she had previously implemented. She was waiting for the storm clouds of the biome to unleash lightning, allowing her to super charge herself with her Semblance, Thunderforce, and overpower her opponent; fighting both smart and directly.

The ginger performed a two-handed downward swing, as if she was trying to drive a railroad spike, aiming for Pierre's head. She had to swing wider than she would have liked, having to compensate for their difference in height, but nevertheless came in quickly. To her shock however, the Mistralese caught Magnhild by the upper part of the handle, and without a moment of hesitation, punted Nora in the centre of her chest with a heavy front kick. He let go as soon as the kick landed, allowing her to sail backwards by over twenty feet, and crashing onto her back. She only had the wind slightly knocked out of her, and was able to open her eyes in time to see Pierre come down at her from above. She rolled out of the way, allowing him to plunge his rapier deep into the rock of the mountain. Nora managed to get to her feet, and looked at her opponent, trying to come up with a better method of delaying him until she could get an electrical boost.

As if the Gods of Thunder had been listening, the ginger felt the hair on the back of her neck rise, and she knew that a storm was coming. Interestingly, this was a by-product of her Semblance, and was something she had discovered as a child soon after being struck by lightning and awakening it. Smiling that her patience had been rewarded, she stood up straight as Pierre removed his sword from the stone.

"I hope you aren't getting horror-struck from my strength" the older Huntsman-in-training hoped, honestly wishing that she wasn't giving in, as he needed her to fight fiercely. To both his surprise and intrigue, Nora grinned wildly.

"No, just thunder-struck" she answered. She raised her hammer to the sky, channeling her Aura into it, as a clap of thunder boomed above.

Lighting began to strike, and a bolt flew home to Magnhild, coursing the 1.21 gigwatts through it to Nora's hand and down into her body. Her eyes flashed blue, as did the electricity that arched across her, before it, along with her Aura, turned pink. The ginger felt the incredible power surge within her, a sensation of invincibility washing over, alongside the drive to fight and crush all who stood before her. There may not be companies of soldiers to mow through, but there was one who had the strength of a company standing right before her. With shocking speed, Nora charged straight at Pierre, and drove Magnhild at him, who managed to block the blow with his rapier. However, the moment their weapons connected, pink lightning began to arch in all directions, but mostly into the swordsman's blade and through his body. While the copper inlay was not the cause of the conductivity, it certainly increased it, joining the many adornments on his person, and shocking him thoroughly. Pierre gritted his teeth in pain, feeling his muscles spasm and lock with the paralyzing effect of the current passing through him. The effect on the senior Huntsman-in-training did not go unnoticed by the thunderess, and she began to unleash her fury; first by shoving him back, then pounding on him again and again to break through his now crippling defenses.

Pierre was now very much aware of this. Nora had proven to be far more powerful than he had expected, though she was not powerful enough to break him. However, this was the moment he had been waiting for, and he knew he needed to bait one final blow to conclude the match. Surging his Aura, he brought up his rapier to block a hammer strike with the flat of his sword across the face of Magnhild, using his free hand to aid him. He dug in his heels and pushed back against Magnhild, just enough so that he could speak to the electrified Huntress-in-training.

"I must say that I'm impressed by your strength, fillette (girlie)" he complimented, albeit with a hint of mockery. "Never had I thought someone so small would be so strong."

"Of course I'm strong; I've got thunder-thighs" Nora grinned with pride. This genuinely took the well dressed man by surprise, and he laughed heartily despite the current situation.

"Mes Dieux! (My Gods)" he laughed, "Never would I expect to find a girl these days that would take pride in her curves. They are usually so fixated on being overly thin, making them neither fit for the bedroom nor the battlefield. I wish you the best of luck in finding a man worthy of your love."

"W-Well..." she stuttered as her cheeks flushed, not expecting such a compliment, nor the topic of romance to come up in the middle of a fight, "there _is_ someone."

"Ah, now _that_ is unsurprising. Does he appreciate you as much you do him? Your amoureux?; your sweetheart?"

"We-Well, we're not _together_ -together" she echoed yet again, lessening her grip on her weapon. Gods how she hated saying that.

"Quoi? Is he stupide?" Pierre asked bluntly, more out of curiosity than anything else, genuinely forgetting his mission objective. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on one's point of view, this struck a nerve with the ginger, who would not tolerate _any_ attacks of _any_ kind towards the man she loved.

"My Ren is _not_ stupid!" she shouted, pink lightning surging out of her. With every ounce of strength, she swung her hammer against the giant, bypassing his rapier, and striking him in the chest.

The power of the blow knocked not only the wind clean out of Pierre, but knocked _him_ clean off his feet, out of the mountain biome, and would have crashed into the stands if not for the Coliseum's defensive shield. He collided against it, and tumbled down to the ground, crashing onto the grass, and appeared to be unconscious.

"Nora Valkyrie has knocked Pierre d'Orce out of the arena and out cold by an electrifying hammer blow!" announced Professor Port without hiding any enthusiasm, happy, despite the circumstances, that his favourite student had won her battle. "It's now a two-on-one match between Team JNPR and Team RROI!"

The crowd of course rose in a mixture of cheers and boos, as Pierre remained still as the medics rushed to his "aid".

'Well that hurt more than I expected' he thought with a chuckle, which caused a slight wince of pain. 'But mes Dieux, what a girl. I wish you luck, jeune homme (young man) who claims her heart. May you not keep her waiting.'

In the reserved seating, Ren breathed a deep sigh of relief. His fears were now replaced with swelling pride as he watched the energetic woman he adored, hold her hammer high in triumph. In the arena, Pyrrha and René saw this as well, and both were glad that the match between the two powerhouses had gone smoothly.

"Judging by the noise the crowd is making, the final blow sold it" commented René with a small smile.

"It seems so" added Pyrrha. "We should conclude our fight, as Nora will certainly make her way over here to press our advantage."

"Indeed. Allons-y! (Let's go!)"

The Mistralese began to increase the pace of their swordsmanship, becoming nearly a blur to the less experienced spectators. Strike, parry, riposte, strike, parry, riposte, dodge, sidestep, thrust, block, repeat. The years of training were paying off in full, showing just how talented the two were. With coordination that went unnoticed to the untrained eyes of the crowd, Pyrrha performed an incredible disarming of René by hooking his rapier through the front arm and side ring of the swept hilt with Miló. She then knocked his legs out from under him with a swipe from Akoúo, and using the momentum of the spin, aimed a powerful kick at his chin. Pierre was sent flying backwards, flipping twice, before crashing to the ground.

"And Pyrrha Nikos has brilliantly disarmed and defeated René Argent!" announced Oobleck. "Team RROI has fallen! Team JNPR wins!"

The crowd once again roused with cheers and boos, just as Nora came rushing to Pyrrha's side in a heated sprint She skid to a stop while pin-wheeling her arms when she realized that the match was over.

"We won!" she cried, smiling brightly.

"Yes, we did" Pyrrha replied, sheathing her arms with a slightly forced smile, knowing the truth. "You had a good fight, I hope?"

"Yeah, he was tough, that guy" Nora acknowledged, folding her arms. "But then he started insulting Ren, so I whacked him!"

The redhead blinked in surprise before covering her lips with her left fist to try and suppress a giggle.

"Now why would he do a thing like that? And more importantly, how does he know about Ren?"

"It...well...it sorta came up..." confessed the ginger, looking away with a blush of embarrassment. "He kinda complemented me, and he wished me luck on finding a boyfriend, and then I mentioned Ren, and then he called him stupid for not getting together-together with me..."

This explanation only brought more giggles from Pyrrha.

"How nice of him" she remarked, seeing the silver-lining of the exchange, and only continued to giggle when Nora pouted at her. "Cheer up, Nora" she added, placing a hand on her friend's right shoulder, "you've gained a new supporter."

"...I guess" she muttered, slumping over defeated despite being triumphant.

While the two victorious maidens made their way out of the arena, there were three groups watching them with intrigue; though not all in the same vein. In the skybox, the Huntmasters were pleased with their performance, and hoped that the following matches would go just as smoothly. They had been keeping an eye on the crowd, and were equally pleased that the spectators were enjoying themselves despite the sudden and irregular change in the tournament. After all, not only were they doing their best to buy time and set up the proper defense of the capital with this intervention, but to also entertain the civilians, and keep them in the dark.

The second group were Teams RWBY, JNPR, and SSSN, who were very happy with Pyrrha and Nora's victory, and impressed that they had defeated two talented seniors. However, there were two amongst the group that were not as pleased; Jaune and Weiss. Of course, Jaune had been growing in suspicion since he first noticed that Pyrrha was lying about Team CLME. Yet, he had done his best to avoid pressing her on the matter, after she claimed the reason for her meeting with Ozpin. By this point, he was near certain that their meeting _had_ been about Cinder and her team, though what they discussed about them, he had no idea. Now, with the Huntmaster announcing that the tournament would be modified with new combatants from Mistral, ones who were close to graduating as full Huntsmen, he had a better perception on what was going on. However, that was not what tipped him off. It was something that many if not most watching would not have caught on to, but Jaune and Weiss had noticed immediately. It was in the swordplay of Pyrrha and René, and it puzzled them greatly: they were holding back. Neither was sure as to why, it being due to their past history or something unrelated, but for Jaune at least, hoped the truth was nothing to be worried about.

The final group of course, was that of Cinder and her three lackeys. They had all been watching the match carefully, giving their full attention to Pyrrha's one-on-one with René. Unfortunately for them, they gained no new insight on her abilities as it was simply, at least to them, a duel between swordsmen. Neither combatant had activated their Semblances and displayed their true power, giving them nothing new to work with. They were well aware of Pyrrha's Semblance, Polarity, of course, and had seen plenty of demonstrations of that power from recordings of her tournament matches. What they had yet to see, was her growth since those matches; something she had displayed very little of during the tournament thus far. They had been hoping that the match between her team and Team SSSN would have drawn it out, but this intervention by Ozpin had taken that opportunity away.

"So what now?" asked Emerald, looking uncertainly to Cinder.

The cold false-Maiden, leaning back against her seat with her arms crossed, remained silent for a few moments. Her eyes were glued onto Pyrrha like a predatory animal, as she vanished below ground into the locker-area. When she lost sight of her, she spoke.

"We carry on with the plan" she decided tonelessly.

"Are you sure?" asked Mercury.

"Nikos has made it to the Singles bracket; something that we've wanted and planned for since the start. Now that we know about Ironwood's little puppet, it and Nikos fighting one another, is key to our plan."

"But what if they don't fight?" he countered.

"We control the outcome of the match-ups" Cinder mused, tapping her tablet. "We will set the matches for tomorrow. The moment that _anything_ changes to our preset outcomes, we shall begin the assault with Emerald using her Semblance to cause panic. If nothing changes, then we carry on with our original plan. Is that understood?"

The three younger members of the group glanced at one another before looking at Cinder, and nodded silently. It was all or nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I was bringing this story together, I knew that I would have to try and make sense of the poorly designed tournament. What I didn't realize however, was just HOW bad the tournament was. Going through the wiki and learning what was planned, scrapped, and what is officially canon, my brain began to melt. I spent three days trying to make sense of everything, and had to make custom tournament brackets to visualize how it would work.
> 
> I finally decided to bring in some original characters to "fix" the situation. If I haven't stated this before, I've fully rewritten the series in my mind from beginning to end, and THAT rewrite is the basis for this one. Teams RROI and LION are from my rewrite, but were meant to made their appearance when RWBY and JNPR reach Mistral. As I knew exactly how the military were going to defend the Kingdom, I needed some special ground forces for the tournament, and I decided to call in these OCs.
> 
> I did have to change some things, however. Diego was completely invented for this story, as his spot was originally filled by another character called "Wilhelm Imperial", who Pyrrha mentioned earlier. I did plan for him to make an appearance, but I just don't think that scene will fit; even though it involved Ironwood and showed off his Semblance, which is MUCH different than the canon.
> 
> Regardless, there are a couple of reasons to why I created Diego, which will become apparent in time.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noël, Buon Natale, Feliz Navidad, Fröhliche Weihnachten, καλά Χριστούγεννα, Wesołych Świąt, С Рождеством, God Jul, Gleðileg Jól, メリークリスマス, חנוכה שמח, Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, Mother Nights, and Júl! Be safe, enjoy the company of your loved ones, eat and drink to your heart's content, be merry, and take care. See you next time.


	10. Till Death or Glory

Pyrrha and Nora returned to their seats in the reserved section of the Valian stands to a warm welcome.

"That was awesome!" cheered Yang, with her sister showing similar enthusiasm.

"Thank you, girls" returned Pyrrha smiling, hiding her frustrations and concerns as best she could.

"Did you see?" asked Nora eagerly to both Jaune and Ren. "I kept switching things up, trying to figure out how to beat him, and then I took advantage of my environment to knock him out of the arena!"

"We did and well done" congratulated the blond with a smile. "Glad you listened to my advice."

"Are you OK?" asked Ren. "You took some hard hits out there."

The ginger looked at her long time crush, and saw the concern in his eyes. Ever since they had decided to stick together, Ren had always been incredibly protective of her. He always made sure that she was safe before allowing himself to relax, that she had enough to eat before he ate, and overall put her before himself. Even after awakening her Semblance and building a much stronger weapon, making her so much stronger than him, Ren _still_ worried about her. She didn't hate it of course. In fact, it had only deepened her love for him over the years, as no one had ever cared for her before he entered her life. That concern for her melted her heart every single time, and now was no different, causing her to smile warmly.

"Don't worry, Ren, I'm tough" she assured him. "He was tough, but I'm tougher."

The green-clad Huntsman-in-training let out a small sigh of relief before returning her smile with one of his own, as hers was impossible for him to resist.

"I'm glad. You were great out there" he complimented. Nora's smile instantly brightened further, and she threw her arms around Ren's neck, hugging him tightly. She couldn't show her love for him with kisses or words outside of "boop", so her fierce hugs would have to do; channeling all her love into them at every opportunity. It clearly reached him, as Ren returned the hug, despite feeling the eyes of his friends on them.

"Well that's one weird match down; one to go" commented Sun, cracking his neck. "Got any friendly advice about your ex-classmates, Nikos?"

"Ian is incredibly strong, and Allen is rather crafty and skillful despite his appearance" offered the redhead. "My advice to you both is simply to not let your guard down."

" _Greaaaaat_ " the Monkey Faunus replied sarcastically before clicking his tongue. "Right, let's go, Neptune."

The blue-haired lieutenant nodded, and while reaching for Ionio, felt Weiss squeeze his other hand. He turned to look at her, and saw the concerned but supportive gaze she was giving him.

"Be careful" she said softly.

"I will" he replied smiling gently but reassuringly, squeezing back before lifting her hand and kissing it.

Taking his rifle, he rose to his feet and followed his captain to the Vacuan corner of the Coliseum, who just before, gave Blake a playful wink, not wanting to be outdone by his friend in flirting. When they both left, Weiss was given a couple moments of bliss, before realizing that all of her friends were looking at her, very much amused by her romantic exchange.

"W-What?" she demanded hotly, feeling her cheeks warming in embarrassment.

"Oh Neptune!~" Ruby cried, throwing her right hand to her forehead, pretending to swoon. "Do be careful, my darling! I cannot go on without thee!"

"Fear not, my princess!" Yang cried joining in, taking Ruby's free hand. "I shall defeat the enemy, and no matter the pain, I will return to your loving embrace once more!" She then began to exaggeratingly kiss her sister's hand, putting the bow on their impromptu theatrical performance, and causing their friends to laugh.

"I think that was a rather sweet thing for him to do" defended Pyrrha, though she was guilty of laughing along with the others.

"Exactly!" the heiress exclaimed folding her arms defiantly, her cheeks deepening in colour. "Laugh at me as much as you want, girls, but my Neptune is a perfect gentleman, and his expressions of courtship are _very_ much appreciated."

" _Your_ Neptune, huh?" remarked Nora with a smirk. "So how do you think _your_ Neptune is gonna do?"

"He will win!"

"You sure?"

"Of course!"

The others chuckled at Weiss' proclamations before turning their attention to the arena, as the match would start momentarily. With their focus away from the white-haired Atlassian, Blake leaned over to Pyrrha and spoke in a low voice.

"Tell me honestly; what are their chances against your upperclassmen?" she asked.

"Worried about Sun?" Pyrrha replied playfully.

The Cat Faunus blushed at the accusation, but held fast and kept the serious expression on her face.

"Tell me."

The Mistralese champion paused for a moment, knowing she couldn't simply come out with the truth, but she could still give her friend some comfort.

"I am not sure" she lied, "but I believe that if they fight intelligently, they will be victorious. Sun and Neptune seem to be the closest of friends, who no doubt work very well together. I believe their chances are better than you think."

Blake nodded slowly, appearing to be satisfied by the answer, and turned her gaze to the arena.

λΛλ

As the first and second in command of Team SSSN walked briskly towards the arena, the crowd cheered them on in excitement. The Vacuans were even more eager for their match, knowing this would determine their chances of winning the Vytal Tournament. As expected, their fangirls cheered for them as well, though neither paid them any attention, for Sun noticed how tense his friend was.

"Dude, _relax_. We'll win" he reassured, nudging him with his elbow.

"I hope so" Neptune replied, not looking at the blond.

"You look like you're gonna have a cow. Seriously, breathe before ya pass out."

Indeed, Neptune did have a rather grave expression on his face, which was born out of the soft smile he bore when he left Weiss behind. The reason of course, was due to his conversation with her the other day, and his performance against Team NDGO.

"I have to do well today" he explained in a serious tone. "I can't repeat what happened in the Team Round. I can't make an ass of myself in front of her again."

"She's not gonna dump you, dude" Sun said, trying to put his friend's fears to rest as they stepped onto the white tiles of the battlefield. "I've seen enough at this point to know for sure that she really likes you, and as long as you do your best, win or lose, you won't disappoint her."

"And the best way to _not_ disappoint her is by winning and winning decisively" Neptune countered, looking over at his optimistic captain. "And why are you acting like winning doesn't matter? We're aiming to win this tournament, and that means getting you to the Singles Round. I have to pull my weight here."

"I never said anything that winning doesn't matter, just that the Ice Queen won't leave you in the cold; however it turns out."

"I just don't want to have to fight in anything water related; that's all I ask."

As the pair stopped at their starting position, from the Mistral corner of the Coliseum, their opponents at last came into view. Ian Oak and Allen O'Nottingham walked causally towards them without a hint of fear or nervousness. It became instantly clear that their profiles had not done them justice. Allen's near comical attire was much more brilliant and vivid in person, especially with his clothes and feathers catching the sunlight. However, for every bit of the bard's fashion being flashy, Ian's appearance was equally eye-catching. His match portrait had not fully encapsulated his daunting height, towering at 6'8", and appeared like a mountain beside his teammate, who was just under six feet. Sun and Neptune couldn't help but lean back slightly in surprise, as they had no inclination to the Grizzly Bear Faunus' true height. Of course as a Bear Faunus, it wouldn't have been a stretch of the imagination to assume he would be tall. However, Ian's height in combination with this build made him an intimidating sight to say the least. Indeed, in the stands, Blake was unable to stop herself from swallowing nervously, as the Mistralese Faunus was even more physically intimidating than her own father.

When the two senior Huntsmen-in-training reached their own starting point, they looked at their younger opponents with differing levels of politeness.

"Good afternoon, lads" greeted Allen, removing his barrette and bowing low. "I hope that we can all have a pleasant match today."

"Here's hoping" replied Sun with a smile, before leaning over to Neptune. "See? They're nice."

"It might be all the same to you pretty boys" yawned Ian dismissively, "but I've got trouble believing that green brats such as you have a chance against us."

"You were saying?" the blue-haired Vacuan muttered.

"Now now, Ian, that's not how we should treat our juniors" the bard scolded with a wag of his finger. "This is as much a learning opportunity for them as it is a tournament. We should be mentoring rather than belittling."

"I thought we were brought in to fight them, not babysit them."

"Well, aren't you like a bear with a sore head. What's making you so narky today?"

"I just don't like the city all that much. I was looking forward to that patrol mission."

As the combatants spoke to one another, the digital roulette began to spin and selected the four biomes for the match. To the relief of Teams SSSN and RWBY, the selected environments were two forests that sat side by side and covering half of the arena, city ruins, and for the first time, a winter biome with snow and ice. It was hard to tell what the biome contained given that it was completely covered in snow, though a few bulges hinted at what lay beneath.

"Thank the Gods!" praised Neptune, holding his hands up gratefully.

"Well, there you are, you big grouch. A little bit of home to take your mind off the concrete jungle" chirped Allen with a dandy smile.

"It's not the same, but it will do" shrugged the tall Faunus, scratching the back of his right ear.

"Right ho! Let us begin with the match. Mr. Vasilias" said Allen, pointing to Neptune. "I like your hair, sir; is it natural?"

Neptune blinked in confusion, not at all a question he was expecting to be asked.

"…Uh…yeah?" he replied.

"Very good. Then you shall be my opponent. You are clearly someone who takes care in their attire, and as I am one such person myself, I can respect that effort."

"Thanks…I haven't been asked that in years."

"Really? I get asked it all time" Allen sighed, flicking his odd coloured hair. "I appreciate the attention, but I would much rather enrapture people with my songs than my appearance."

"Have you looked in the mirror?" asked Sun bluntly, getting a small smirk from the taller Mistralese. "Whatever, you ladies enjoy yourselves and talk about your hair."

"I'll take the monkey kid" Ian announced, cracking his knuckles.

"Fighters ready?" shouted Oobleck. "Three…two…one…BEGIN!"

The pairs broke off to face their respective opponents, but none of them were in a rush to jump into battle. Team SSSN was particularly cautious, as they were going up against senior Huntsmen-in-training, and running in half-cocked could spell disaster. As for Team LION, they wanted to make the match as real and entertaining as possible, without hurting the younger boys severely.

"Looks like you and I fight with the same weapon" commented Sun, drawing Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang from his back, and spun them into their staff configuration.

"Seems like it" Ian replied, pulling his long quarterstaff over his head, and pulled on one of the ends of the straps after unhooking it, causing it to reel itself into the shaft. "I prefer the simplicity of a good staff."

"Really? I like how flashy it can be; makes for a good show."

"I leave the over the top flash for my friends."

"Fair enough" agreed the blond Faunus, and began to do some deep side lunges. "I can respect that, even if it as a _little_ boring. Then again, it's more fun to fight flashily then dress flashily. I think Neptune goes a bit too far."

"Glad to see we agree on something" returned Ian, resting on his weapon, clearly in no rush. "Though I would add that fighting should be competent and effective over being flashy."

"True. But to be fair, Neptune's style got him a great girlfriend, so credit where credit is due."

"Hmmm. Have you finished stalling?" asked the Grizzly Faunus.

"Noticed did ya?" grinned Sun. "I was just trying to figure out the best way to take you down."

The burly man laughed a slow deep laugh, revealing his longer than normal canines. "Take me down? With what? That twig? I don't think so, lad."

"Yes with this 'twig'; and stop calling me 'kid'. You're only like four years older than me."

"Four years means a great deal in this line of work" pointed out Ian correctly. "But I hope that you have more to offer than just talk, and that stick of yours, is more than just a baton to twirl around. Because if that's all you've got, then I can just crush you with my bare fists."

Despite his weapon being insulted yet again, the right corner of Sun's mouth twitched into a grin, unable to contain himself.

"You have bear fists?" he asked with an open mouth smile.

Ian was left mute from the pun, but the corner of his mouth twitched, not willing to allow himself to laugh.

"That was _terrible_ " he said at last.

"Sorry, dude" Sun laughed, throwing his hands up defensively. "I've been spending a lot of time with my girl's team, and one of her friends is a _riot_. I'll try to keep'em bearable."

The older Faunus' face fell into an expression that screamed disapproval and disdain.

"And to think I was actually starting to believe you had some hope" he sighed tonelessly. He swung his quarterstaff over his head before taking a stance, holding it with both hands. "Time to take you to the woodshed."

While this was developing, Neptune and Allen were squaring off. The bard removed his lute from his back, and began to strum it; tuning the instrument.

"You're not going to sing me a song, are you?" asked Neptune, making sure to be ready for anything, no matter how absurd it might be.

"As much as I would love to play for a crowd this massive, music making will have to wait" the musician replied sorrowfully.

"Good. I was worried for a second that I should have brought my violin instead of Ionio."

"Ah, so you are a musician? Very good, sir. Perhaps after this we may make some wonderful music together to entertain the fairgoers" offered Allen, smiling dandily.

"Shouldn't you be taking this seriously?" Neptune asked. "I mean I don't mind playing some music with good drink and company around, but this is a _combat_ tournament. Why did you bring a lute to a battlefield?"

This caused the minstrel to smile with a strong flicker of mischief in his eyes.

"Because my fellow player, music, as well as combat, is art" he explained. He then played a short quick tune, before spinning his lute by the neck, transforming it into an extravagant looking billhook. He thrust the bottom of his weapon into the tiles of the arena, and held the polearm the same way a basest would a cello. "And art is life."

Neptune examined the Mistralese minstrel anew, as well as his weapon, and smirked.

"Well, I can't say I disagree on that" he mused. He reached behind him and drew Ionio, spinning in clockwise, barrel over stock, transforming it into its fuscina trident form, and slammed the base into the tiles as electricity arced from the prongs.

"Let's play." 

The pair stared at one another for a few moments, before Allen spun his billhook clockwise over his head, and attacked with the short spike aiming for Neptune's left thigh. The Vacuan kicked the base of his fuscina to spin it clockwise and parried the strike, knocking the billhook away, before catching the upper part of Ionio's shaft with his left hand, and plunged the prongs at the minstrel. Allen side flipped to the right, dodging the attack, then swung his weapon again, this time aiming for Neptune's exposed neck. The blue-haired Huntsman-in-training dropped into a crouch with one leg extended, narrowly avoiding the swipe, and then rose back up to send a powerful front kick at his opponent. Allen brought up his polearm in time to block the kick with the centre of the shaft, which pushed him back slightly, allowing Neptune to return to a neutral stance, ready for the next exchange.

"Whoa" awed Yang honestly. "Neptune's actually really good."

"Of course he is" assured Sage, folding his arms in pride. "And without the damn water getting in his way, you'll see just how good he really is."

Weiss, who was concerned for Neptune's surprise match, felt a surge of pride of her own, lifting the weight on her heart, and allowing her to enjoy the fight.

In the arena, Sun and Ian eyed each other carefully, before the Monkey Faunus bolted towards the giant man. He leapt into the air and brought Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang onto his foe, who brought up his quarterstaff and effortlessly blocked the attack. Sun bounced off Ian and as soon as he landed to the ground, separated his staff in two, and began to unleash a hailstorm of shotgun blasts as he marched forward. Despite his size, Ian began to spin his quarterstaff with surprising speed, blocking all of the shots until Sun stopped firing, to which he then brought down his weapon with a monstrous two-handed swing. Sun rejoined his nunchakus just in time to block the blow, but underestimated just how powerful it would be. His legs buckled, forcing him into a low crouch, as his arms bent as much as they physically could, stopping Ian's staff an inch from connecting with his neck. The tiles cracked beneath his feet, displaying just how powerful the attack had been, but the captain of Team SSSN, though heavily strained, remained strong and slowly lifted his head to look at his opponent.

"Well..." he began through clenched teeth, but still managing a flashy grin, "not bad old man. But it looks like your bark is worse than your bite." This was a bluff of course, as the attack could have done some serious damage if he hadn't blocked it; Aura adding to his defence or no.

Then, as if sensing that then younger Faunus was trying to put one over him, Ian took a deep breath before unleashing a thunderous roar, revealing his large canines once again, blowing the blond's hair back. The roar was so loud in fact, that even the audience was able to hear it, sending a shiver down their spines. Sun on the other hand, blinked before exhaling through puffed cheeks.

"Well someone's got bad breath" he remarked, doing his best to maintain an unmoved composure.

"Forgive me, how about I give you some room to breathe?" offered Ian. Before Sun could say anything, the Grizzly Faunus kicked him square in the chest with such force that he was sent flying across the arena into the forest biomes, disappearing from view. In the stands, Blake lurched forward as a wave of fear struck her, as she was also unable to see where the blond had landed.

"Sun!" shouted Neptune, as he saw his friend hurtling out of sight. Fearing the worst, he turned to chase after him, but narrowly dodged the curved blade of Allen's billhook that tried to catch his shoulder.

"Vasilias my lad, _I_ am your opponent, not dear Ian" he scolded coyly, positioning himself between the Vacuan and the forest. "Fear not for your friend. Ian will not be overly rough with him so long as he doesn't annoy him too much."

" _Now_ I'm afraid" Neptune replied, worrying more than ever before for his mischievous captain's wellbeing. 

λΛλ

Sun groaned as he sat up, rubbing the back of his head.

"Shit, that hurt" he winced. "If I hadn't been working on this bod for so long then we would have _really_ had a problem."

While this was true, the kick had nevertheless knocked the wind clean out of him, and it took him a few moments to recover it. He looked around him to get a fix on his bearings, and noticed his staff laying a few feet away from him. Picking it up, he looked around to see his opponent, but so far he had not made his reappearance. There was something a tad ironic about the whole affair, alone in the woods looking out for a bear. Sun had put up a brave face, but if he were to be honest, he was a bit intimidated by the Grizzly Faunus. He wasn't shaking in his boots of course, although he was very much aware just how much of a difference in raw physical power there was. Normally it was the other way round, and even if he was to maximize his Semblance and Aura, he had a good idea that mountain that masqueraded as a man, would still defeat him.

"So how the Hell do I beat him?" he said to himself.

"I hope you aren't cracking under the pressure" came Ian's deep voice as he emerged from the trees.

"Pressure? What pressure?" asked Sun nonchalantly. "If you're feeling too stressed from the match and you want to bow out now, that's just fine."

Ian laughed once as he planted his quarterstaff into the soft earth.

"Cheeky. As much as I would have preferred to relax beneath a tall tree this afternoon over fighting in this tournament, I must fight. You can surrender if you wish."

"Me?" Sun pointed at himself with both index fingers. "Hell no! I got the most beautiful girl in the world watching me right now. Quitting would be the _worst_ thing I could do."

"See, this is why I've been calling you 'kid', lad. You, just like your lieutenant, and Allen for that matter, putting looks and women before everything else. As Huntsmen-in-training, that's like putting the cart before the horse. There're more things that beg priority over the rewards that come afterwards."

"Cart before the horse? Priorities? I've got the best of friends, and a girl worth fighting for; what else could I possibly need?" Sun proclaimed with a bright grin, meaning every word of it.

Ian lifted his head with curiosity before shaking it in disbelief.

"The audacity of youth" he muttered.

"Ya done whingeing, old man, or do you want to fight?"

The Grizzly Faunus removed his quarterstaff from the ground and rested it on his shoulder, as a low and deep growl echoed from the base of his throat. "I'm starting to spoil for a fight..." he said slowly, his brown eyes locking onto his opponent, "...monkey-boy."

The two Faunus stared each other down for a few moments. Then without warning, both lunged with their staffs that struck at the tips, knocking them both back, before both pressed forward. Metallic bangs rang throughout the pseudo-forest as their staffs clashed, both displaying their proficiency in their discipline. The leaves in the canopy above were being buffered by the wind generated from the powerful swings, with blades of grass being kicked into the air, and swirling around the combatants. Half of the Coliseum cameras had located Sun and Ian, and to the spectators, it appeared as if they were dead even. The reality of course was that Sun was exerting far more energy to counter Ian's attacks, and he knew that he would lose in the long run; sooner rather than later. He began to avoid the attacks that he could, making use of his speed and agility, and putting his abundant energy to great effect. Sun then took to the air, kicking off from tree to tree, circling the Grizzly Faunus, and even successfully landing strikes. Ian was trying to keep up with the Vacuan, but at the same time trying to not fight seriously, knowing just how badly he could hurt Sun if he did.

"What's wrong, old man?" taunted Sun. "Can't get this monkey off your back?"

'This bloody…' growled Ian internally. Losing his patience, he spun round and reached above, grabbing Sun by the tail.

Without hesitation, he wrenched Sun over his head and slammed him into the ground. He then swung him again, smashing Sun behind him, before finally throwing him over thirty feet, allowing him to crash into the dirt, slide onto his upper back, and finally flip backwards onto his front. The spectators, regardless of their Kingdom of origin, unanimously winced at the brutal blow delivered to the Vacuan Faunus. Blake gasped in fear, covering her mouth and watching wide-eyed. On the other side of the arena, Neptune and Allen, who had been heavily engaged in combat, turned to look at one of the holoscreens that was broadcasting the fight between their teammates.

"Sun!" shouted the blue-haired lieutenant, sharing Blake's fear.

'Damn it, Ian!' cursed the bard. 'The lad isn't the enemy! He needs to win!'

In the forest, Sun slowly brought his arms forward and pressed his palms into the grass, lifting his chest off the ground. He coughed twice before spitting out some dirt and grass, and he wiped his mouth with the back of his right hand.

'Right…' he thought blenching, bringing up his knees to better prop himself up. 'Don't poke the bear…though honestly, all my attacks _were_ were pokes. Damn, what options do I have?'

The sound of heavy footsteps caused the blond to look up and see the advancing Mistralese, who seemed no worse for wear. As Sun shifted to get to his feet, his tail moving with him, it brushed up against an object that he instantly knew was Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang. He quickly wrapped his prehensile tail around the weapon and passed it up to himself as he pushed off his right knee into a standing position. He _had_ to wear him down. There was no other option at Sun's disposal. He separated his staff into two pairs of nunchakus, and began to spin-cock and fire in rapid succession. Ian began to spin his quarterstaff to deflect the shots, however, he was not able to block all of them, and some passed through, bouncing off his Aura armour. Seeing this, Sun continued to maintain the pressure, though secretly hoping that his ammunition supply would hold out for longer than his opponent.

'You want to play that way, do ya, lad?' the Grizzly Faunus thought in annoyance. 'Fine then. Ready or not...' he gripped the centre of his staff, each hand twisting in opposite directions, and separating it in two, 'here I come.'

Sun had stopped firing by this point, noticing that the older Faunus was revealing that his weapon was more than just a quarterstaff. This was to be expected, as nearly _all_ Huntsmen arms were multi-form weapons, but there were limitations with most staff types. What would Ian's be? Near instantaneously, the Monkey Faunus got his answer, as each segment of the Mistralese's quarterstaff had become an axe; each bit looking like a hybridization of a normal woodcutting axe and a Danish axe. Before Sun could react, the giant man charged at him, his boots pounding the ground as he ran, sounding very similar to the thunder of draught horse hooves. Sun resumed his barrage of shotgun fire, but grimaced in distress as he saw his shots bounce off the incoming Faunus harmlessly. When Sun was in range, Ian drew his right axe back, and swung it at the Vacuan, who dashed forward before ducking and sliding on his knees between his opponent's legs. Instead of hitting the blond, Ian's axe struck the tree immediately to his right, and sliced through it like a knife through butter, allowing it to fall to the ground with a mighty crash.

After getting past the older Faunus, Sun had twisted round into a crouching position, and looked at the cut tree with a panicked look on his face.

"Were you actually trying to kill me, ya crazy bitch?" he sputtered, very much aware that he could have lost his head if he hadn't dodged.

Ian performed an axe flourish as he turned to face his petrified opponent.

"What's the point of having a dull axe?" he asked casually.

"That wasn't what I asked! This is a tournament, not war!"

"Says the kid shooting at me."

"These are non-lethal shells I'm using!"

"Ah, so that's why they tickled."

As fair a statement as that was, it didn't do much to calm Sun's nerves. In fact, they would be rattled further, as Ian began to swipe at the fallen tree with one axe, cutting it into two foot thick logs, impaling each with the other axe, and using it to hurl the logs at the Monkey Faunus. Sun snapped out of his stupor, and began to fire his shotguns, blasting two logs before hearing the dreaded click of a hammer striking a firing pin and nothing happening; indicating that he was indeed out of ammunition. He switched back to relying on his agility, and ducked and flipped to avoid the incoming improvised projectiles. When Ian ran out of logs, he charged once again at Sun, this time jumping into the air, and brought both his axes onto the smaller Faunus. As expected, Sun jumped out of the way, straight into the air, allowing the axes to bite into the soft earth. But when Ian recovered and looked about, he saw that Sun had disappeared. Of course this wasn't true, rather Sun's natural instincts had taken over, and like a monkey, scampered up to the highest point of the canopy, resting against the trunk of a particularly tall tree, and doing his best to catch his breath.

"Right..." he said to himself, fishing out lose shotgun shells from his pockets, dropping the levers of Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang, placing a shell in the chambers, and closed the levers before loading the tubular magazines. "I need to think of a better strategy here. These aren't powerful enough to drop him, and I don't have enough ammo to grind down his Aura armour so I can knock him out with a physical attack. Hate admitting it, but I doubt I could hurt him with kicks and punches anyways." The blond attached his weapon to his back and folded his arms, descending into thought. "Well...I could use _that_ , but Hell, it'll take all I've got. If I don't beat him then, I'm dead in the water. Man, I really need to increase my muscle and Aura endurance training after this tournament..."

"There you are, monkey-boy" Ian's deep voice cut into Sun's thoughts from below. The Vacuan Faunus looked through the canopy and saw the giant man walking calmly towards him.

"Ya know, if we weren't both Faunus, some people would say that nickname you're giving me is racist" Sun pointed out.

Ian cocked an eye-brow. "Why? You are a monkey and a boy. It's a very accurate nickname. Hell, the Human pub owner of my favourite establishment in Haven calls the Human children that cause trouble 'monkeys'."

"I know, but there are people who think that way. Take my girl for instance; she's pretty sensitive about that sort of thing."

"She's a student of a Huntsmen academy?"

"Yeah."

"…She might be in the wrong line of work" admitted the muscular Mistralese. "Being overly sensitive and being a Huntsman is _not_ a good mix."

"Oh I know" agreed Sun. "I'm from Vacuo, and oversensitivity will get you killed just as fast as coming across an Olgoi-Khorkhoi Grimm."

"Good to know you have _some_ sense. Now then…" Ian continued, folding his arms with his axes sticking out behind him. "While I am enjoying our chat, you can't honestly think you can spend the entire match hiding in the trees like a squirrel."

Sun looked at his tail curiously before looking back at the taller Faunus.

"I thought I was a monkey?"

Ian sighed, realizing that talking was entirely frivolous. He extended his arms and swung both axes so they embedded into the tree Sun was in, and let them stay there. The captain of Team SSSN snapped to attention, expected that Ian had cut the tree at its base, but was surprise to find that he had not. He would be even more surprised at what happened next however, as the Grizzly Faunus then wrapped his thick arms around the trunk of the tree, and with impossible strength, uprooted it.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me!" Sun shouted, bewildered by just how wrong he was about the gap between their strengths, and jumped out of his tree into the next one.

As soon as he recovered, he heard the now recognizable sound of an axe biting into wood, and he jumped once again as a log sailed through the air and struck the bow he was standing on. Showing off his acrobatic skills, Sun swung through the canopy, dodging the logs and trying to put enough distance between himself and Ian to think of a new plan of attack. Unfortunately, he would not get that opportunity, as his opponent threw one of his axes at the tree he was about to land on, cutting through it cleanly. The bow he was aiming for fell past him, causing him to fall to the ground and roll before coming to a stop. As Sun looked up, Ian walked towards him more briskly than before, an unamused expression on his face.

"I'm starting to get _very_ annoyed with you, lad" he growled, pulling the axe he had thrown out of the ground. "You clearly can't beat me. You can either keep running around like a coward, or you can save face and admit defeat."

That ultimatum caused an immediate change in Sun. Insults would bounce off him like they were nothing. They had little if any effect on him, and he would just fire back with insults of his own. That's how it was in Vacuo. Being called a coward however, was a different story. For Sun, and for most is not all men in Vacuo, being called a coward, was one of the worst things a person could be called. The shame of cowardice was beyond disgraceful and dishonourable; to the point that the blond could not put into words of how emasculating it was. It was only something that men could understand, and he was feeling _every_ ounce of it. His face had lost all of its normal humour, turning more serious that anyone from Team RWBY or JNPR had seen him make, and only emerged a few times since Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet had met him. For it wasn't solely the accusation of being a coward, but being told to surrender. Surrendering without fighting to your last breath was also viewed as cowardly in Vacuo, and it was all too much for the Monkey Faunus to stomach.

He rose to his feet slowly and cracked his neck, before locking eyes with Ian one final time.

'Alright then...' he thought 'we'll go with _that_.'

Sun brought his hands up and closed his eyes as if he were about to pray. From Ian's perspective, that was exactly what he seemed to be doing, which did strike him as odd, for he didn't take the boy to be the religious type. His initial assumption was right of course, as Sun's body began to glow yellow, his Aura surging. From his body emerged three golden clones of himself, and without a moment's hesitation, they bolted towards the Grizzly Faunus. Ian swung his axes at the clones, but found it to be a more difficult endeavor than it had previously been with Sun. Given that the clones were made of Aura, they were lighter than their creator, and could move significantly faster. They ducked and weaved passed the sharp axes like leaves flowing in a stream, bouncing off the trees and striking the tall young man in more directions than he could defend himself from.

This would not be enough to defeat Ian of course, and was only meant to be a distraction to buy Sun time. While his Semblance, Yīqiān Gè Lièrì, was very useful in theory, as creating clones from his Aura had a myriad of applications both in and out of combat, there were currently a number of limits. Mainly, he could only create clones and control them while remaining still, as it required a great deal of concentration, and moving while controlling them was too much for him. Furthermore, while he had a great deal of Aura at his disposal, his efficiency with it was not where it should be, and it burned rather quickly while creating and manipulating his clones. Thus far, he could only create three clones with perfect control, as any more would drain him tremendously. When depleted, he was left near helpless, so he avoided using clones unless the right situation called for it. This appeared to be the right time if ever he saw one. However, three clones would not be enough to defeat Ian, even if he could join them in combat. What he instead had in store, was nothing short of a gamble. If it didn't go without a hitch, and if he wasn't fast enough, then it was all over.

Sun began to concentrate, and forced with all of his might, his Aura to surge once again. He created this time not one, not two, but six more clones, who dashed to the large tree Ian had cut down when he had thrown one of his axes. They all took position around the tree, three on each side, and lifted it in unison. The three that were still engaging with the Mistralese Faunus, were now being given a new order from their creator, and all jumped onto their opponent's back. One wrapped their arms around his left arm while another did the same on his right. They pulled back so that he would no longer be able to attack, and left his chest exposed. Of course, they weren't strong enough to stop him alone, so the third clone aided them by grabbing their jackets and pulled. It sat on Ian's shoulders and locked its legs around his head; not only to anchor himself while he pulled, but to blind the large man of what was to come. When the first three clones were in place, Sun conducted the other six to take aim at Ian, and began running with the log at full tilt, as if it were a battering ram. With a crash, the cut end of the tree struck Ian centre mass, knocking the wind cleanly out of him; something that did not happen very often. However, Sun's clones did not stop here, nor did they retreat for a running start to ram him again. Instead, they kept running, driving the makeshift ram into their target, and pushed him backwards, without any intention of stopping. Sun's arms began to shake, feeling the strain of creating so many clones, and only shook more fiercely as they began to pull farther and farther away.

'Just...a bit more' he told himself, feeling beads of sweat dripping down his body.

Thankfully the Vacuan would not have to wait long, as his goal came into sight. The clones had successfully cleared the forest biome, with the edge of the arena just before them. With one last hurrah, the clones charged forward, and tumbled with Ian off the arena, but vanished into thin air before touching the ground. The Grizzly Bear Faunus crashed to the ground flat on his back, causing a deep thud that even the spectators above him heard it; and the closest could even feel.

"Unbelievable!" shouted Professor Port. "With cunningness and ingenuity, Sun Wukong has defeated Ian Oak by ring out! Team SSSN takes the advantage, making it a two versus one match!"

The crowd erupted in cheers, clearly happy with the outcome of the fight, as well as their love for Sun. In the reserved seating, Sage and Scarlet punched the sky in excitement, their pride for their captain on full display. Blake, who only just then realized she had been holding her breath, let it out with a smile of relief on her face.

"Whoa! He actually beat that giant!" shouted Nora with wide-eyed amazement.

"I thought he was actually in some trouble there, but he managed to pull out a victory" admitted Yang with a smirk.

"It is up to Neptune now" Weiss finished, looking to the arena where the boy in question was still engaged in battle. In the centre of the tiled section of the battleground, the two combatants looked up to the holoscreen that had captured the entire fight.

'Shit, you actually had to get serious, dude' thought the lieutenant, grinning despite the fact. 'No late night partying tonight.'

'You didn't make it easy for him, eh, Ian?' thought Allen at the same moment. 'Well done, Sir Wukong, for putting up such a good fight against my stubborn teammate.'

Within the forest, Sun was out of breath himself, but for different reasons than his ladylove. He was hunched over with his hands on his knees, taking many deep breaths to recover his composure, and steady his racing heart. The shaking in his arms was still occurring, and it had traveled down to his legs, which was why he had yet to move from where he first activated his Semblance. Creating nine clones at once had pushed him further than he thought it would, and he was now at near exhaustion. It had certainly been a gamble, for if Ian had not been knocked out of the arena, then Sun would have lost. In his current state, a light summer breeze would be enough to drop him.

'First thing when we get home...' he thought, 'more Aura endurance training...and weight training...'

For now, it would serve him better to appear that the fight had not taken the wind completely from his sails, and walk it off as naturally as possible. Disguising his heaving with a stretch, he smiled for the cameras, and then walked as casually as his knees allowed to the forest's edge so that he could watch Neptune's match.

λΛλ

"I must say Sir Vasilias" Allen began, keeping the tip of his billhook pointed at his opponent. "You and your captain have impressed me greatly."

"I can't say I've done anything extraordinary, especially in comparison to Sun beating your lieutenant" pointed out the blue-haired Vacuan, mimicking the bard's stance. "But I appreciate the complement. You've done well, yourself."

"I thank you. Indeed, your captain's cleverness allowed him to circumvent Ian's fearsome strength. The man hates to lose, but I think he will get over it; after all, he was not beaten in a contest of strength. As for yourself, it is always a pleasure to face a fellow polearmsman; especially one with your skill. And a player no less! The kinds of folk you meet in foreign lands."

"No kidding. I'm sure we'll have plenty to talk about when this is over."

"Rightly so!" Allen sang, making two circles with the tip of his billhook. "So let us end this, good sir. And may the best player win."

The bard charged at Neptune, who performed a straight thrust to match him. Allen quickly dropped to slide on his knees under the fuscina, before driving the tip of his billhook into the ground for him to push off it, and kick the blue-haired boy in the chest. Neptune flew back ten feet before landing on his back, but wasn't given a moment's reprieve, as Allen dropped from the sky, his polearm aiming right for him. He quickly rolled backwards and performed a reverse kip-up, so that he landed on his feet away from the impact. The tip of the billhook sunk into the tile with ease, giving Allen a sturdy support to spin around the shaft of his weapon to land and even more powerful kick. This time it send Neptune flying even further, but the added velocity gave him enough time to flip and land into a crouch, sliding before coming to a stop. This time when Allen took up the attack, Neptune was ready, and they began to dance around one another, swinging their polearms about them, and trying to find gaps in their defenses to pierce.

They moved to the opposite side of the arena as they fought, finally reaching the winter biome, and began to fight on the cold terrain. Neptune instantly winced as the snow touched his ankles, never in his life coming into contact with the substance before. He had no idea how cold it was, and wanted to know how in Remnant it wasn't melting in the summer heat. He obviously didn't have time to ponder on the melting point of snow, but it was nevertheless a distraction as he fought. Even though he was more heavily dressed than the rest of his teammates, it was not winter wear, and they, as well as his shoes, did not insulate him from the cold. The fight was certainly warming him up, however, it wasn't enough to entirely suppress a slight shiver; something that Allen noticed.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine; just a bit cold" Neptune replied honestly.

"Why? Because of the snow?" the colourful bard looked around them. "It's just a floury, this."

"I'm from Vacuo; we don't have snow there."

"Ahhh that is true. Such a shame, there is nothing more beautiful than the sun shining off hills of snow in the morning. You should travel to see them in future; there's much beauty to the North."

"Oh trust me, I know" Neptune grinned.

The pair returned to their fight, and despite the less than sturdy battlefield, managed to maintain the pace they set since the beginning. However, Neptune knew that he couldn't keep this going forever. He and Allen had hardly let up since the start of the match, and extended fights such as these between equally skilled combatants, was more exhausting than people realized. Furthermore, the Vacuan lieutenant was competent enough to know that the Mistralese was better than he was, forcing himself to match him with riskier manoeuvres. To add to the pressure, Allen had yet to use his Semblance, which he wasn't certain if it was due to an unspoken gentleman's agreement, as if the bard wished to fight with weapon mastery alone, or if Allen was in the same position he was.

'There's no way' Neptune thought blocking a strike. 'He wouldn't be graduating if he was dealing with my problem...'

That thought caused enough of a hesitation in the blue-haired boy's movements for Allen to take advantage, and hook Ionio's shaft with the curved blade of the bill, and give it a good yank. Neptune managed to maintain his grip of his weapon, and dug in his heals to not only resist the disarming attempt, but to try and pull the bard in for an attack. Unfortunately the feather-adorned senior student had a better footing than he did, and pulled Neptune towards him with ease, for he slid across the snow. Before he could counter, Allen struck Neptune in the face with the shaft of his billhook, as if the Vacuan had stepped on a rake. The strike stunned him just enough for his opponent to grab onto Ionio with his free left hand, and simultaneously yanked as he kicked him in the gut. Successfully disarmed, Neptune fell back first into the snow, as his opponent bowed in a sarcastic manner; his left hand holding up Ionio, and his right hand cutting across his chest whilst still holding onto his billhook.

The Vacuans in the crowd moaned with concern, fearing that this could be the end for the handsome lieutenant of Team SSSN. Of course, there was no one more concerned than Weiss, who was clutching at her chest, alarmed at how the tables had turned.

"Shit!" cursed Yang. "This is bad."

"Where's Sun?" asked Weiss desperately, looking about the arena for the blond Faunus.

"There! At the tree line!" spotted Ruby, pointing to the edge of the forest biome. There indeed was Sun, sitting at the base of a tree with his left knee up, his right foot resting on his left, and his hands behind his head; as if he had not a care in the world.

"Why is he just sitting there?" the heiress demanded in both confusion and frustration. "He has to help him!"

"Sun fought Oak alone, so Neptune needs to fight O'Nottingham alone" Sage explained with his arms folded.

"That's beyond foolish! This is the Doubles Round, not the Singles; what's the point of it if we are to then fight individually?"

"That's what I've been asking myself since the beginning of this tournament" remarked Pyrrha. "However, I can speak as a competitive fighter that Neptune would much prefer to fight this to the end alone."

"But if they are trying to get to the Singles bracket, then why aren't they pressing their advantage and take O'Nottingham down together?" countered Weiss.

"Because we're obviously sending Sun to the Singles" cut in Scarlet, "and we don't want him getting any more hurt than necessary." 'Not to mention that the bloody idiot did a real number on himself for creating _nine_ bloody clones at once' he thought. "Neptune knows that, and he's going to do his job as second in command to get Sun to the finals. And we know, as his friend, that he wants to fight this fight _alone_."

"But–"

"We know that you really care about him" Sage expressed. "And we care about him too. We've also known him longer than you have, and we know how he wants to handle things. Win or lose, he'll do it on his own."

Weiss sat there unable to form any kind of retort. She, given her background as a swordswoman from Atlas, knew _exactly_ what they were talking about. She understood what was going through Neptune's mind, as well as the feeling of wanting to fight to the end on one's own strength. It was also the right strategy to try and weaken Allen whilst giving Sun time to recover from his fight with Ian. Team SSSN knew exactly what they were doing, and in reality, were doing nothing that she wouldn't do. What she was struggling with of course, was her own feelings for the boy, and how she didn't want to see him hurt. Winning or losing no longer meant anything, a hypocritical thought to be sure, but now she just wanted him to be alright.

Sighing, the heiress nodded, and as much as it pained her, kept her eyes on the downed Vacuan who had won her heart.

"Alright" she relented, hearing her sister's voice in her mind repeating the word "discipline" thrice over.

In the arena, the cold snow caused Neptune to sit up with a jolt, his jacket proving to be very inadequate for such cold climates. He forced himself to his feet, and saw Allen standing several yards away, twirling his billhook along with Ionio like a court jester would a baton.

"Well now, Sir Vasilias" he said smiling "I do hope that you aren't going to surrender now that you've been disarmed."

To his credit, Neptune actually laughed.

"Surrender? No way. I'd never be able to live down the shame."

"There's no need for theatrics. No one would blame you given your situation" offered the bard. "I just feel for the poor spectators who would be cheated from a good long fight if you exited the stage prematurely."

"I know we need to put on a good show, and my team wouldn't be happy with me if I bowed out now. But...there is one spectator that I care about" he admitted. "I put on a bad showing last match, and I sure as Hell am not gonna to do that again. For my Snow Angel, I'll fight and I'll win."

"Snow Angel?" Allen echoed, looking up to the stands and saw the only person Neptune could be referring to. "Ah, the fair Lady Weiss. She certainly is a beautiful girl. Hmmm I understand now. I am almost tempted to return your fuscina to you so that we may fight on equal terms..."

"What do you mean? We're on equal footing right now."

Allen threw his head back and laughed.

"Cheeky to the end! Well said sir...now..." the bard twirled the polearms around him before taking a fighting stance where the midsections of the shafts crossed. "Fight with all your might!"

Neptune took a breath to steady himself, and faced his eager opponent directly with his body turned slightly sideways to the right. He raised both his fists so that the tips of his fingers were level with his goggles, hands partially open and relaxed despite the cold making him want to ball them. His left was nearly fully extended with his right arm more chambered, but still held further forward than one would expect. The stance he took was visually akin to a boxer's, except that his elbows were not nearly dropped low enough to protect himself from body blows. Only a portion of these details were recognizable to the average eye, but Pyrrha was no such thing, and smiled a small knowing smile. Neptune Vasilias was more than he appeared.

Allen began to advance, flourishing the polearms around him to both intimidate Neptune, and make it more difficult to predict where he would attack. He swiped, thrust, and chopped at the blue-haired Huntsman-in-training, shutting down any and all of his attempts to get close. Even when Neptune thought he found a blind-spot, primarily when Allen turned and left his back exposed, he wasn't able to close the distance as the bard would launch swift kicks at him. It didn't help that the snowy ground did not give him the proper footing, which normally would have been most of his weight on his back foot. Blocking was also a precarious endeavor, as he wore not a single piece of armour, and the only safe method was to block with his forearms and aiming for the shafts of the polearms. Even using Aura to armour his arms, it was still painful, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep this up forever. What options did he have at this point? If he could just get his hands on the bard, then he could turn the tide.

'Alright, let's do something stupid' he thought, knowing that what he was about to attempt was a large gamble.

Neptune began to dash and feint, trying to provoke the older student to attack him. Of course Allen responded in kind, not allowing the Vacuan to approach any closer than the invisible line he had drawn. Those counters had been with the polearms however, and they only spurred Neptune on, knowing he had to keep trying until the right moment presented itself. At last, Allen overcommitted to an attack with Ionio, leaving the left side of his back exposed. Neptune dashed forward, but did so purposely slower than he should have. Seeing the advance, Allen used the momentum of his initial attack to continue spinning, and sent a kick that struck Neptune square in the gut. The attack hurt of course, but despite that, the blue-haired boy grinned as it was exactly what he wanted to happen. Before Allen knew what was happening, Neptune locked his arms around his leg and pulled, beginning a grapple submission. The bard may have been taken by surprise, but he was far from helpless, as the moment Neptune pulled, he swung his right leg upward and kicked him in the jaw. The blow was just enough to force Neptune to let go of Allen, allowing the bard to flip backwards onto his feet. However, it was not enough to stun him, as he had managed to lean back just enough to mitigate the damage and recover, not letting the momentum halt just yet. This was a very fortunate move on his part, as he had recovered just in time to see the Mistralese land less gracefully than he had anticipated, slipping on the wet snow.

As Allen reeled back, Neptune reached out and grabbed onto Ionio, halting the bard's fall. Without hesitation, he wrenched the colourful man towards him, and with all his might, punched him in the face with a mighty haymaker with his left fist. The force of the blow caused Allen to flip a full 275° before crashing face first into the snow. The crowd cheered as Neptune spun to face his downed opponent, remembering of course to perform a flourish mid turn. Gripping his fuscina with both hands, he activated the electrified prongs and drove them at the bard, making sure that he would stay down for good. Unfortunately Allen was not as delicate as he appeared, and with apparently no effort, cart wheeled away from the attack before flipping gracefully onto his feet.

"Well done, sir! Wonderfully done indeed!" Allen complimented, resting his billhook on his right shoulder.

"You sound oddly happy with being knocked to the ground" pointed out Neptune, wondering if he had just loosened some bolts in the minstrel's head.

"Credit where credit is due, as they say. Now then" he swung his weapon and pointing it at Neptune. "Let us finish this properly."

The combatants eyed each other carefully, knowing that the end was drawing near, and any further mistake would cost them the match. They slowly inched forward, the tips of their polearms drawing closer and closer, until they passed one another. Without warning, the pair engaged in battle once more, their weapons clashing as their feet kicked snow into the air. They circled each other as they fought, trying to land strikes as they parried the others, and neither giving any ground. For Neptune however, he knew that he was going to lose ground if he didn't come up with a better plan. His earlier assessment that Allen was a better fighter than he was, had been proven entirely correct, which no doubt meant that a direct fight like this would end in the minstrel's victory. Trying to stay out of his range by using Ionio in rifle configuration, would prove disastrous, for as soon as Allen closed the distance, which Neptune knew he could and would with ease, he would cut him down. Despite Ionio's many forms and upgrades, none of them would help him here, leaving him to his own devices, which there weren't many of. What he had left in his arsenal would be useful against a weaker opponent, for its use thus far had been minimal against Allen.

'There has to be something I can do' he argued to himself, gritting his teeth in frustration. 'I need time to think, but there isn't any time to. Damn it all...and my socks are soaked...'

This realization caused Neptune's eyes to widen. He glanced down at the ground and saw that the snow beneath their feet had now been turned to slush due to their trampling. Puddles of water where now forming in the biome, which were also growing in size, thanks to the summer sun above them. There wasn't nearly enough water to cause his phobia to strike, but what it did do was give the Vacuan a daring and potentially dangerous idea.

'I might as well; not like I have anything else in the tank' he thought, sucking on his teeth.

Setting his plan into motion, Neptune began to try and bait Allen into a very specific attack. After several attempts, it was clear that the older student was not going to make a mistake, so the blue-haired teen decided he needed to gamble. Knocking away the billhook with Ionio, he pushed into Allen's space, and he raised his left fist, making it seem that he was going to try and punch him again. The Mistralese saw this coming, and brought his bill around as quickly as a serpent's strike, thrusting the top spike at his opponent. This was what Neptune was waiting for, and he leaded backwards to avoid the attack without moving his feet. To both Allen and those spectating, it looked like the Vacuan was about to fall, for he was leaning much too far backwards to maintain balance. This was quickly proven to be incorrect, as despite the unbalanced stance he was in, Neptune managed to raise his right leg without falling, and unleashed a powerful Gastrizein front kick. His heel connected with Allen's chest, which hit with such force that it actually knocked the wind out of the minstrel, causing him to stumble backwards. He hadn't been expecting such an attack, and he would have laughed if not for the situation he was currently in.

Neptune was far from done with his assault, for the moment that he saw his kick had done some damage, he then moved in to capitalize on it. Letting go of Ionio, he rushed in and grabbed Allen with one hand on his hip and the other on his leg. Then, it one swift motion, he lifted his opponent straight into the air, and slammed him into the cold hard ground. The takedown took Allen by even greater surprise, as this knew fighting style of Neptune's was more aggressive and brutal than anything he had previously displayed. And like the front kick he had just eaten, the throw had proven to be even more painful, for the ground offered no cushioning of any kind. While he knew he needed to throw the match, Allen knew that playing dead with this grapple would not be convincing enough to those watching. Deciding to wait for a better opportunity, he rolled over before pushing off the ground with both feet, and flipping away in one solid arc.

'I'm drenched' he thought, looking down at his attire. 'This will take all night to clean.' Glancing up at Neptune, he saw him pick up his fushina. He decided he would taunt the boy to provoke an even greater attack, so that he could take the fall and end the match. "Really, Sir Vasilias, I assumed you would do better than resorting to back alley tactics. Have you been pushed into a corner, and you see no way out? Most undignified, sir."

It wasn't much of a taunt, as Allen liked Neptune quite a bit, and all it did was cause Neptune to laugh.

"Given how dirty your clothes are, who's the real undignified one here?" he shot back teasingly, flourishing his trident before beckoning the bard the way one would a dog.

"In that case, I will send you my dry-cleaning bill!" Allen laughed before bolting towards the Vacuan. Just before the attack could land, Neptune flicked Ionio so that it caught the shaft of Allen's bill between its prongs, and locked the polearms together in a bind. "You know, lad, you have yet to activate your Semblance. I would recommend doing so if you want to stand a chance."

Neptune gazed into Allen's eyes in silence for a moment, before smirking coolly.

"Given what shocking surprise I have in store, my Semblance won't be necessary."

Before the minstrel could ask what he meant, Neptune twisted Ionio so that it and Allen's billhook stabbed into the ground. He then pulled himself into the air, holding onto the shaft of his weapon to keep himself off the ground, just before activating Ionio's electric prongs. The blue electricity struck the water before latching onto the strings of the billhook, travelling up the shaft, and then to Allen's wet clothes. The bard shook as he was electrocuted, electricity arcing off of him in all directions, until his eyes rolled into the back of his head. The moment that Neptune saw the white of his opponent's eyes, he deactivated Ionio and descended from his perch, letting Allen fall onto his back, twitching for a few more seconds before laying still. Neptune gazed at him carefully, unsure if he had been defeated or not. When he didn't stir, he grinned in relief, and held his trident above his head in triumph. 

"Allen O'Nottingham has been defeated by Neptune Vasilias!" announced Oobleck. "Team SSSN wins!"

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause, the Vacuans reaching a level above the others, knowing that Sun now had a shot to win the entire tournament. In the reserved seating, Teams RWBY, JNPR, and SSSN cheered with Weiss, Sage, and Scarlet on their feet, happiest of all. Neptune looked to the stands and saw Weiss clapping; and while tired and not at his best in terms of dress, he smiled and saluted at her before walking past the medics who were making their way to Allen. He walked over to Sun, who had yet to move from his seat beneath the tree.

"You napping, dude?" he asked.

"No, just waiting for you to wrap up" Sun replied casually. "Good job, by the way."

"Thanks" smirked Neptune. "You need a hand, don't you?"

"Maybe, yeah."

The blue-haired lieutenant laughed as he offered his hand which the Monkey Faunus accepted graciously, allowing himself to be hoisted to his feet.

"Looks like we're going to the Singles" Sun remarked.

"You are you mean."

"We're still a team, even if I'm the only one fighting" the blond said honestly. "So tell me, you happy with how the fight went?"

"It certainly went better than the last one" Neptune admitted. "Given the way she's smiling, I think it went very well."

Sun looked to the stands and saw not only Weiss smiling happily, but Blake as well, causing him to grin.

"Yeah, I feel you."

As the duo left the arena, the stretch-bearers carried Allen to the Mistralese exit, where Ian lay on a stretcher in the waiting area. Just when they were about to pass the "unconscious" Faunus, the bard popped into a sitting position, scaring the medics half to death.

"Well that went wonderfully~" he sang, smiling as if nothing had happened. Ignoring the stunned medics, he brought up his billhook, twirled it into lute form, and began playing a cheery tune as he leaned over to Ian. "Are you sleeping dear Ian? The match has ended." When the Grizzly Faunus didn't stir, the bard began to play at three times the tempo. "Iiiiiiiiiiian~! It is time to wake uuuuuup~!"

The right eye of the lieutenant opened, and stared at his teammate with the same aura as a bear that had been awoken from hibernation.

"If you play one more note" he began, bringing Allen's playing to a halt, "I'm going to ram your billhook right up your arse and turn you into a feather duster, ya damn popinjay."

The bard laughed as he swung his legs over the side of the stretcher, and rose to his feet.

"Glad to see you are as chipper as ever. You can leave us, lads, we're just grand" he said to the medics, who looked at one another, unsure of the situation, but finally did leave after Allen ushered them with a shooing gesture. "Well now, _you_ certainly do not know how to play nice."

"If you're referring to the monkey-boy, I did _exactly_ as I was asked; make the match look as believable as possible" Ian defended stonily. "He was far more annoying than I figured he would be."

"You find that _everyone_ is annoying when it comes to fighting you, mate. You do realize that you are quite the imposing fellow, right?"

Ian smirked slightly. "I've been told, yes."

"In my _humble_ opinion" Allen continued "I think those two and a fine pair of lads. I can see them going far in life."

The Grizzly Faunus eyed his friend carefully.

"Is this some form of intuition, or are you just being hopeful so that you can write music and poems of their adventures?"

Allen grinned from ear to ear as he leaned onto his lute. "How well you know me."

Surprisingly, Ian laughed slowly and deeply as he sat up, scratching the back of his right ear.

"All of this is so bizarre. I understand that the Huntmasters have a plan, but I can't grasp the scope of it. Those second-years got hurt badly from those invading bastards, and it could have been all avoided if we were given the order to put them through a wall."

"As always I enjoy your enthusiasm, but our orders are our orders, and we must place our faith in them. No doubt if things turn for the worst, then we will be called to the front lines. Not that I would want for things to go poorly of course, so instead we shall sit and be patient. Now then, shall we go get a pint or two with the lads?"

"How well you know me" Ian smirked.

λΛλ

Sun and Neptune entered the reserved seating and were instantly greeted by their teammates, high fiving them enthusiastically.

"Singles Round here we come!" grinned Sun before turning his attention to Team JNPR. "Your upperclassmen suck, Nikos! And I'm gonna add you to the list of overrated Mistralese tomorrow!"

"First off, big talk coming from a guy who got rag-dolled" Yang interjected, pointing at him. "Second, _I'm_ the one who's going to beat this overrated Mistralese."

Pyrrha remained calm with a soft smile on her face. The competitive trash-talking came with the territory, and she knew it was just playful banter coming from her friends. She also knew the truth about the purpose of her mentors joining the tournament, though she wouldn't be able to speak a word of it until after its conclusion, if ever.

"I look forward to tomorrow as well" she said half lying, as she knew that tomorrow could be the day that Ozpin and Ironwood would make their move.

Neptune, who was grinning with pride while being congratulated by Sage and Scarlet, softened his expression when his eyes met Weiss'. He instantly became aware of how dishevelled he now looked after the match, and fruitlessly tried to fix his hair.

"So, was that a better match than the last one?" he asked sheepishly.

Weiss smiled, knowing that he had tried his best to impress her. Of course he no longer needed to, but it still touched her that he valued her opinion of him so highly. She pulled out her handkerchief, and began to wipe the dirt off his cheek.

"Yes, you did very well" she assured him softly.

"Sorry that I'm a mess" he apologized, blushing slightly in embarrassment.

"Actually..." the heiress examined his handsome face, now smudged with some dirt on his cheeks and his ruffled hair. "That's not a bad look for you."

"She spent her whole life in a clean expensive mansion so she likes her men _dirty_ " Yang chimed in, causing Nora to snort. Weiss calmly turned to look at the mischievous blonde, and gave her a cool smirk.

"Still single, Xiao Long?" she asked calmly.

"Yup. Too busy winning this tournament."

"Interesting how we've all been able to do both, unlike yourself."

Yang's eyes widened and she smiled wildly, ready and willing to get into a fight.

"In any case" began Pyrrha, trying to defuse the situation, "all of you did very well today. Tomorrow bodes well in terms of competition if you maintain the pace we've set."

"Eh. You kids were OK at best" came a gruff voice, causing them all to turn to see Qrow leaning against the wall with his arms folded.

"Uncle Qrow!" cheered Ruby with a wide smile.

"And where have you been?" demanded Yang. "You showed up out of nowhere without letting us know, then when I try to reach you, you disappear. What gives?"

"Sorry, kid. Oz had an errand for me to run last minute. I just got back."

"Oz? You mean our Huntmaster? You know him personally?"

"Other than on a professional level? Sure; Oz and I go way back" explained the somber Huntsman. "We met here at Beacon when we were first-years, along with your old man and your moms. Man, things have changed since then."

"Such as?"

Qrow grinned. "We were actually good at your age."

"Alright" Yang sneered, cracking her knuckles. "You wanna go, old man?"

Her uncle laughed. "As much as I love schooling you, whether it be in gaming or combat, I have some more important things to take care of. I'll be watching your matches tomorrow, so you better not embarrass yourself and the family. I already had Tai bitching about you swearing too much today, so I don't need him complaining about how badly you fight."

"Shit...he heard me?" asked Yang wincing.

"Yup. Put that level of enthusiasm in your training and you'd be unstoppable. Anyways, I've got more errands to run. See you kids tonight, if I don't get held up."

Qrow left the students puzzled by the interaction, but nevertheless intrigued as he lived up to and exceeded expectations; at least in terms of being interesting and cool uncle. Pyrrha on the other hand had watched him carefully, and felt a pang of frustration when he didn't even look at her. She sat there for a few moments as the others were waiting for the exiting crowd to thin, when her patience finally emptied and she stood to leave.

"Pyrrha?" asked Jaune.

"I'll be right back" she replied, and disappeared in the crowd before Jaune or anyone else could say another word. This frustrated the blond, as this was the second time she had done this. He had understood her reasons in checking on Team CFVY, but what reason did she have to go after Yang and Ruby's uncle?

The redhead slipped passed the stunned spectators that recognized her, laser focused on the younger Branwen twin who was heading for the hallways below the Coliseum. She made her way to the stairway, finally catching up to him just before his disappeared around the corner.

"Mr. Branwen!" she called, stopping him in his tracks.

"If the enemy sees us together, they could get suspicious, kid" he said without turning.

"I need to know about what exactly you and the Order are planning" Pyrrha implored bluntly.

"We're handling this accordingly, just keep acting like nothing is–"

"I'm already aware that you are using my countrymen to infiltrate the tournament" she interjected. "I know that they will be inserted into the Singles bracket tomorrow as well. However, what I do not understand is how in Remnant this is supposed to deal with the situation at hand. You haven't injected Olivier and the others in order to confront the assassins; in fact, you are actively trying _not_ to confront them. You're trying to delay that as much as possible because of some form of plan. Quite frankly sir, manipulating the tournament this way is _far_ more suspicious than us speaking. Please tell me what is that plan."

Qrow slowly turned to partially face her, and eyed her coolly.

"Been real busy, haven't you?" he said at last, sighing. "Given that you haven't sworn your allegiance to the Order, I have no obligation to tell you anything. But because I'm such a nice guy, I'll tell you this: tomorrow is when we will make our move. _Your_ job is to continue acting like nothing is wrong, and give the crowd a good show. _If_ and _only if_ things go completely tits up, will we call you to do what we've asked of you. I can't believe I'm gonna quote Jimmy, but keep calm and carry on. Do you understand?"

He only waited for Pyrrha to begin to reluctantly nod, before turning to leave. However, the Mistralese champion was not ready to end the conversation without playing her final card.

"The girl!" she said quickly.

"The girl?" Qrow repeated looking over his shoulder.

"One of the enemy agents, Emerald Sustrai; her Semblance has something to do with illusions" Pyrrha explained quickly. "I spoke to Coco after she fought her, and she mentioned that before she lost consciousness. I...thought you should know that..."

The somber Huntsman looked the Huntress-in-training in the eyes, and maintained his gaze for several moments before slowly nodding. Without saying another word, he turned the corner and left Pyrrha alone to close her eyes in exasperation.

What in the names of the Gods was in store for them tomorrow?

λΛλ

Late that night, all members of the Maiden's Ring stood in Huntmaster Ozpin's office, silent as the grave. Qrow was nursing his leather-bound flask while sitting on the corner of Ozpin's desk, carefully eyes the contents of a vial. Glynda was standing with her arms crossed behind the silver-haired Huntsman, as he gently stroked his owl's head. General Ironwood was at the window that overlooked the campus courtyard, smoking a cigar as Winter was listening to someone speaking to her on the other end of a military phone, jotting down the information that was being recounted to her. The silence was broken at last when she returned the handset to the cradle and turned to face her commanding officer.

"Everything is ready, sir" she said steadily.

Ironwood removed the cigar from his lips with his left hand, but didn't turn around.

"The northern brigades?" he asked.

"In position alongside their Valian counterparts with the adjoining tank battalions, field artillery batteries, and the CVW KASS _Jörmungandr_ 'patrolling' with a flotilla of submarines courtesy of the Kraken fleet in the Vytal Sea."

"And the southern battalions?"

"Repositioned and ready on your command, sir."

Ironwood allowed a small smirk as he returned his cigar to his lips.

"The board is set" he said looking up to the broken moon.

Ozpin closed his eyes and looked forlornly out the window to the moon.

"And may the Gods be with us" he said quietly.

The Great Horned owl looked at his master with his large eyes, and hooting a single long hoot, matching the dispirited tone of the room exactly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you've all enjoyed both your Christmas and your New Years; not too hung over, hopefully.
> 
> There are a few things of note regarding this chapter. The first is Neptune. As I'm sure you've noticed, I haven't tried to torpedo and completely disgrace and humiliate him like CRWBY have. Instead, I've done my best to show you an actual character, because I think that Neptune had a lot of potential. While you sadly will not be able to see who and what he becomes in this story, let this chapter, as well as future ones, give you a taste of the true Neptune Vasilias.
> 
> The second thing to note is of course, Sun. Given that he's been disgraced even more so than Neptune, while not being in the show with supplementary material (RWBY: Before the Dawn Vol.II), I made sure to give him the respect he deserves. Like his lieutenant, Sun had a LOT of potential, and he will have many moments like these to show off what he can do. Also, I decided to change his Semblance slightly, giving him more at his disposal along with proper rules, and I changed the name from "Via Sun" to "Yīqiān Gè Lièrì"; Chinese for "Thousand Burning Suns". The reason for the latter, as the former is obvious, is that the name is lazy and does nothing to explain what the Semblance does. Furthermore, Semblances should sound like they were named by their masters. This is a problem with most characters, and I have done what needed doing (did the same for Nora from "High Voltage" to "Thunderforce".)
> 
> And lastly, making use of Coco's information. What will this result in, now that Pyrrha has told Qrow? Stay tuned.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and that it was a great start to the new year. Cheers, Gods bless, and see you next time.


	11. Divide and Conquer

The following morning was as beautiful and calm as the one before, which was the exact opposite of the typhoon of emotions Pyrrha was experiencing as she tried to eat breakfast with her friends and teammates. She had slept sporadically the night before, due to both being unable to relax, and having vivid nightmares wrench her out of sleep. They were not separate dreams, but rather a continuous stream of related fears. Grimm invading Albion, White Fang forces marching through the streets, Cinder killing Amber, her friends falling in battle, Jaune's white armour stained red. That final image had firmly bound itself to the front of her mind, to the point that she could see it clear as day every time she shut her eyes. She knew that she was letting her fear get to her, but she had no idea how to overcome it. Normally she had a very good grip on her fears, never allowing them to cloud her judgement, and open the floodgates to errors that could cost her victory.

'Just pretend that this is a regular tournament' she had told herself. 'Just another tournament; no different than the many you've competed in since you were a girl.' However, she knew with every fiber of her being that this wasn't just another tournament.

It wasn't her reputation and record that was on the line, but rather innocent civilians, her friends, and the boy she loved. It was an all or nothing scenario, with everything to gain and everything to lose. How could she stay as calm and collected as the Order wanted her to in such a situation? Huntmaster Ozpin had been more reassuring than Qrow, going as far as to prostrate himself before her. However, the reason he had been so calming then, was solely on the fact that he had been so sincere and open _emotionally_. What she needed to know to suppress her warring emotions now, were immovable facts. What exactly was the Order planning to counter the enemy forces? She knew that Huntmaster-General Ironwood was heading the defences of Albion by bringing troops and new mechanized armour, which truly did give her some comfort, but it was the overarching plan she desperately wished to know. And now, if Qrow was being truthful, was the time to be aware of those plans, as they were meant to go into motion today. _Just remain calm and continue as if all is normal_. How laughable that statement now sounded.

"Pyrrha" came Jaune's voice, which the fraught young woman only heard after feeling him grasp her right hand. She looked up to see him gazing at her with concern in his eyes, and she instantly realized that he had been trying to get her attention the entire time she had been lost in her thoughts.

"Yes?" she managed.

"What's wrong?" the blond asked directly, no longer interested in trying to be subtle with his worry for her wellbeing.

"It's nothing, Jaune. I'm just a bit nervous about today" she lied. "The Singles bracket will be far more difficult than we expected since my upperclassmen have been invited to compete."

That normally would have been a convincing argument, but Jaune wasn't being fooled. He had been as patient as a saint thus far, but now, seeing her _this_ anxious, had drained all the patience he had left.

"No, it's something else" he said firmly. "You've been like this since after you went to talk to Huntmaster Ozpin, and it got worse after Coco and Yatsuhashi's match yesterday. Please tell me what's wrong."

Pyrrha felt her stomach twist, knowing now that her attempts to keep Jaune unaware of her distress had completely failed.

"It's...it's nothing. I'll explain when the tournament is over." Before Jaune could interject, Pyrrha laid down her fork and rose to her feet. "I'm going for a walk" she announced to the others, who thankfully had been overly engrossed in their own conversations to notice the exchange with her captain. "I'll see you all at the Coliseum."

"You OK? You barely ate" Nora commented.

"I'm fine, just a bit anxious for today" the redhead lied once again, and promptly left, feeling more like a coward with every step, distancing herself from the friends she so desperately wished to protect. Jaune kept his eyes on her, the emotions he had been struggling with for the past two days raging to a boil.

"Is something wrong with Pyrrha?" asked Nora, starting to become worried about her friend.

The blond continued to stare at the end of the dining hall, hardly noticing the others looking at him and expecting a response. At last, the final grain of patience he had dissolved, and he slammed his fist on the table.

"Fucking Hell" he cursed and got to his feet, nearly running after Pyrrha, which only made the others grow in concern, but ultimately decided not to follow.

"OK, what's going on?" demanded Yang, looking to Ren and Nora.

"We don't know" the ginger replied, a concerned expression on her face. "Pyrrha's been like that since yesterday, and she looked exhausted before we got ready for breakfast."

"We've noticed" added Weiss, her face now serious and focused. "Have you not spoken to her about this?"

"I tried, but she said it was nothing. What about you two?" Nora asked, pointing to the Xiao Long sisters. "Why did Pyrrha talk with your uncle?"

"We asked!" the blond defended, throwing her hands in the air. "All we could get out of him was that she wanted to know why had her mentors been asked to join the tournament; which when we asked him about that, just repeated with Huntmaster Ozpin said."

"Uncle Qrow can be a _bit_ secretive" added Ruby, though her tone and expression suggested it was a rather common occurrence, "but it can't be something really bad, right?"

While she came across a tad naive, her voice revealed a slight hint of worry, fearful if there was indeed something to be concerned about. Their previous conversations about Team CLME and the White Fang began to surface in their minds, for despite Pyrrha's insistence she had been wrong, the lack of detail was worrisome.

"I personally would like to know the reason behind her countrymen being asked to enter the tournament as well" Weiss continued. "Her match with René was questionable."

"What do you mean?" asked Blake. "It was a good match from what I could tell."

"As it would to the rest of you, but not to me" the heiress explained carefully. "As I mentioned, I have a great interest in dueling and swordsmanship, and have trained in it for years. I followed the leagues even before my sister competed, and I know very well how René fights, as well as how two highly skilled swordsmen engage. They held back."

"What do you mean?" demanded Nora. "That Pierre guy hit pretty hard yesterday."

"Oh I am certain of your fight being legitimate, but I am equally certain that Pyrrha and René were not fighting at their full potential."

"That isn't surprising" Ren said at last. "We've been training with her since we became a team, and if she were to fight us seriously, then we would have been severely injured or worse. Pyrrha is the most disciplined person I know other than yourself, so I suspect that she's being careful for the Singles bracket. She's a veteran of Mistral's Gladiatorial circuit after all, so she of all people knows what she's doing. Furthermore, given that René is someone whom she trained with in Mistral, there most certainly be some sort of understanding we aren't aware of. Neither used their Semblances, if you recall."

"I suppose..." Weiss conceded, though she wasn't entirely convinced.

"Why don't we ask her when she gets back? Or when Jaune comes back" offered Ruby. "She'd tell him what's bothering her; she loves him."

The others Huntsmen-in-training nodded in agreement, though nonetheless maintained their worry for the Mistralese champion. Whether it large or small, they didn't want to see her in distress. But if anyone could make her happy, it was Jaune.

λΛλ

Jaune left the dining hall and was now walking northward towards the lecture dome. He had already lost sight of her, so he began to run in hopes of covering the ground between them fast enough to see even a glimpse of her. Thankfully luck was on his side, and he saw the redhead walking between the water and the kitchen when he turned the corner, causing him to sprint towards her.

"Pyrrha!" he called, causing her to turn around in shock.

"Jaune..." she began, but the blond wasn't having any of it, and walked right up to her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"What's wrong?" he asked again.

"Everything is fi–"

"Pyrrha, stop" he cut her off, raising his voice more than he wanted to, but his emotions were now getting the better of him. "You're a terrible liar and I know you've been hiding something from us. I tried respecting your privacy and wait for you to tell me when you're ready, but the way to you were acting at breakfast was killing me."

Pyrrha felt her heart fall into her stomach, as his words hurt in ways she couldn't describe.

"I'm so sorry, Jaune. I never wanted to make your worry like this. I was trying in every way possible not to" she lamented, bringing her hands to his cuirass. "Everything's fine. There's just something that I need to manage on my own. I'll be alright."

"Pyrrha" Jaune yearned, cupping her right cheek with his left hand, making her look into his blue eyes. "You've stood by me this whole time, helping me with everything and anything. I want to do everything in my power to be the same person to you. Not as your captain or as your friend...but as someone who cares about you so much, you're all I think about. Please, let me help you with whatever it is you're dealing with."

The redhead swallowed anxiously. Her heart beat faster at his words, and even harder as she could see the sincerity painfully reflected in his eyes. How badly did she want to tell him the truth. How badly did she want his help, to confine in the person she loved most and was doing all of this to protect. More than ever Pyrrha wanted to be in his arms, and feel safe from all the uncertainty that had been plaguing her ever since she had learned the truth from the Order. However, that was the very reason _why_ she had been keeping things from Jaune and the others. She had made her oaths and she would keep them, as she could never forgive herself if something where to happen to any of her friends, especially the kind blond whom she loved.

"I want you to help me" she confessed, placing her right hand on his left. "But I have to do this alone for now."

"Why? At least tell me that. I'm here for you, Pyrrha."

"I know you are" she tightened her grip on his hand. "But I can't. I promised that I wouldn't tell anyone; but I promise I'll tell you when the tournament is over."

Jaune looked into her beautiful emerald eyes that normally shone so brilliantly, but were now glassy and full of dismay. He felt as if a knife was being twisted into his heart, which now only spurred him onward to help her. What was causing her such distress that she still felt the need to keep it from him? Then it clicked in his mind.

"It's about Cinder and her team, isn't it?" he stated more than asked. "That's what your meeting with the Huntmaster was about." He didn't need her to confirm his assumption with words, as her eyes widening were confirmation enough.

The anger he had felt when he and the others had suspected that something was off about the supposed Mistralese team, had now returned in full force. If this was what was bothering her so much, then it may have something to do with their Huntmaster. Was he not taking any action against them? If their identities could not be confirmed, then they had to be an enemy of the Kingdom, and most likely were in league with the White Fang in some capacity. Why else would they try to hide who they were other than for evil intent? He knew that was partially hypocritical given Ren, Nora, Blake, and himself, but each of them had good honest reasons for coming to Beacon, and every piece of evidence pointed to foul play in regards to Team CLME. If they were working with the White Fang, then they needed to be dealt with before they did anything like what occurred in Mantle. Pyrrha's own words about them taking advantage of the Vytal Festival came instantly to mind, and he knew that with today being the potential last day of the tournament, if they were going to make a move, now would be the time.

"Let's go."

"W-What?" she managed.

"You're worried sick because Ozpin told you not to attack them, right? It's why you were so stressed yesterday after Coco's match. Well, if they aren't gonna do anything, then we'll do it ourselves. Hell, it's not like we haven't been doing that already. Let's finish what we started and take them down before they can hurt anyone else."

Jaune began to turn, planning to get Ren and Nora as back up before marching straight for the Mistralese guest lodgings. From Pyrrha's point of view, it was as if he were moving in slow motion, as a thousand thoughts rushed through her mind. She was indeed frustrated that the imposters were allowed to walk freely, despite being known by her superiors, and what their intentions were. Pyrrha was of course privy, as least to a certain degree, that the Order _did_ have a plan to deal with Cinder and her lackeys, but it was the unwillingness to share that plan and their strange idea of calling for her upperclassmen to help by throwing matches, that distressed her so greatly. There was then the pressing issue of Amber and the Fall Maiden's power. Not only were innocent civilians in danger from the enemy's forces, but if successful, the enemy would then have claim to a power gifted to the world to protect them _from_ the forces of Darkness. This was as much of a security endeavor as a holy one, making it far more vital and pressing for Pyrrha. The image of Amber, injured and comatose in the special pod below the school was clear in her mind, before morphing into the horrific image of Jaune covered in blood; what could be his fate if he faced Amber's assailant. That final thought instantly took her back to when she was a girl, standing beside her mother, and staring at a white casket covered in Asters, Tulips, and Sunflowers.

She would not let that happen to him. She would _not_.

"No!" she screamed, reaching out to him with her right hand, but used her Semblance, as he was already beyond her physical grasp.

Unfortunately in her panic, she had pulled him far harder than she planned, and caused him to fly past her at blinding speed, and crash painfully against the wall of the academy kitchen building. He cried out when he collided with the wall, and fell to the ground in a heap, stunned from the blow. Pyrrha gasped in horror at what she had done. Covering her mouth in shock, she stood frozen and wide-eyed at the slow to recover blond. She had just done something she had been doing everything in her power to avoid; to hurt Jaune. Even during their training sessions, she had been incredibly careful, arguably more than she should, to avoid injuring him. Her love for her captain was the cause, and it was what drove her to remain mum on the truth of who and what the Order was, along with their plans. But despite all her efforts, Jaune had figured out a great deal of what was going on, and by trying to protect him, she had hurt him.

Tears began to form as the blond lifted his head to look at her, and they fell down her cheeks, which unbeknownst to the redhead, caused Jaune far more pain than her accidental throw.

"I'm sorry..." she cried through her fingers, before turning and sprinting away.

"Pyrrha! Wait!" Jaune shouted, struggling to his feet, which took more effort than he thought as the shock from the impact had gone to his legs.

By the time he was up and ready to give chase, the girl who had captured his heart was gone, leaving him alone in the sunny morning, which did not coincide with the depressing gloom and pain that bogged his heart. However, if he had pushed through the pain, he might have discovered that Pyrrha, while an impressive runner given her athletic background, had stopped running when she passed the academy swimming pool, and was only a hundred or so yards further. She felt completely drained, with not an ounce of energy remaining to let her run, though her distresses made her want to run forever.

"What have I done?" she moaned, her face in her hands. "I hurt him, then I ran like a coward, and now I'm sobbing like a child. Ti me to Fos eínai láthos me ména? (What in the Light is wrong with me?)"

Truly, what had she done? Normally so calm, so well put together, so steady, and now she was shaken and afraid. What was the honest cause to all of this? Was it the call of duty that she now had the opportunity to heed by serving as a hammer of the Gods, or was it the fear of losing the first, and she hoped, the only man she would ever love? The obvious answer was that it was both, forming a volatile cocktail of emotions, topped perfectly with the correct amount of fear of the unknown; the plans of the Order and the consequences of those plans failing. More than ever she needed to clear her head, but it was spinning so violently that she felt as if she would vomit. Her heart begged her to return to Jaune; to see if he was alright, to hold him tightly and for him to hold her. But another part flooded her with shame for wanting to be comforted after what she had done. That shame won, and forced her legs that felt as if they were weighted with lead, to walk further into the forest that joined with that of Forever Fall, and she vanished within the leaves. 

λΛλ

As the final minutes ticked away before the start of the Singles Round, Mercury was already in position in the Mistral locker area. He gritted his teeth as he made sure that Talaria was fully loaded, as well as that his legs were properly attached. He had taken some over the counter painkillers to help deal with his fractured ribs, but they were a drop in the bucket it terms of what was needed to dull the pain. The small amount of rest he managed to acquire had done very little to heal his injuries, which did leave him wondering just how he was supposed to pull off his part of the plan. He only needed to wait for Emerald to do her part of course, but to be this injured before the true show was to start, did leave him in a rather tight bind. At least he could say with certainty that he had concealed his injuries well enough that Cinder hadn't noticed. Emerald may be loyal to her for getting her out of life on the streets, but he was not so naive. He had alarm bells going off the moment he had met her, and he was only going along with her plans because she had given him new legs, and had promised him to give him back what he had lost if he was successful with his mission. He wasn't indebted to her, nor did he feel any inclination to be, but he would continue, as she had kept her side of the bargain thus far.

Furthermore, there was something odd about the relationship between Cinder and Neo. It had developed after they had convinced Roman to join them. Well, _she_ had convinced him. How Cinder had managed that partnership, he didn't know, but ever since, when Neo wasn't with Roman, she was by Cinder's side; which was at a constant these past several weeks. She was like a loyal lapdog, always at the half-Maiden's heels, and doing what she was told. It was more than Emerald's level of obedience, but what made him wonder what was truly going on, was the fear she would let slip every so often. Her face would never betray her, but her eyes were a different matter. What Mercury wasn't able to shake, was that he felt as if he knew _exactly_ what kind of fear she was hiding; and that it was uncomfortably familiar.

He would have remained consumed with his thoughts until his match began, when a voice emerged from the silence.

"Merc?"

The crippled assassin snapped to attention and looked over his shoulder to see Emerald standing in the frame of the entrance of the waiting area.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded in confusion. "You're supposed to be in position."

"I know" she replied walking forward. "I just wanted to check on you. You've been acting weird since our match yesterday."

'Fuck' he groaned internally. "I'm fine. Just worry about what you need to be doing today. Give me the signal when you start making your illusions so we can get the bimbo exactly where we want her."

Mercury rose to his feet and began stretching his legs, keeping his back to the green-haired thief so that she couldn't see his face if it betrayed him.

"You're hurt, aren't you?"

'Fucking damn it.'

"Let me see."

"I'm fine!" he growled as she walked around the bench to stand next to him, but stopped when he snapped at her. He looked at the girl and saw that her concern was oddly genuine, and strangely felt a pang of guilt when he saw the look on her face. "Sorry...I'll live. You just worry about making your illusion is seamless, and I'll worry about throwing the match and crying for the cameras. They'll start calling for me soon so you better get going. Good luck."

Emerald remained where she stood for a few moments in silence, before finally turning and walked back to the exit. She then stopped and looked over her shoulder.

"Hold out for as long as you can. I'll make sure that it'll look like she hurt your ribs too; to cover your ass" she said, adding the last comment to erase the tension and return the situation to normal.

Mercury actually smirked at that.

"Thanks, good looking; you better. Cuz if you fuck up, we all die. So no pressure" he remarked.

Emerald's red eyes remained on the kick-boxer, before finally turning for the exit, and walked down the hall towards the stairway that lead to the stands.

λΛλ

In the Valian reserved seating, Teams RWBY, JNPR, and SSSN sat side by side, waiting for the final set of matches to be determined. Unfortunately, they were no longer as eager for their matches as they had been this morning. Jaune hadn't told the others what had happened between Pyrrha and himself, and had only returned to the others an hour before they left Beacon for the Coliseum. They asked where Pyrrha was of course, which only caused more anxiety for the blond, as he had hoped she would have returned before he did. He lied and said that she wanted to be alone to mentally prepare herself for her match, using her faith as a smokescreen and avoid further questions. However, with only a few minutes before the Singles bracket was set to start, she had yet to appear. Jaune desperately wanted to call her, but he felt such shame for what had happened, that he decided against it, wishing to give her as much space as she needed.

'You're such a coward' he told himself, tightening his folded arms closer to his armoured chest.

He felt like he was a child. He had been so impatient with her, jumping to a conclusion without working his way up to it steadily, and then provoked her into accidentally throwing him with Polarity. This obviously didn't put his fears to rest about Cinder and her team; if anything, it only cemented that his assumptions were true. What ate at him now was that he was missing key details that Pyrrha knew, and because he didn't know them, he acted impulsively, and caused her to panic. What was most likely the case was that Pyrrha had been asked to remain quiet for security reasons, and General Ironwood would handle the situation when the time was right. But because he placed his feelings for Pyrrha before thinking things through, he made her cry, instead being the supportive boyfriend he was supposed to be.

'Some leader I'm turning out to be' he thought, cursing himself as he shut his eyes.

Indeed, that was the core of the issue. That morning, he wanted to be a good boyfriend rather than a good leader. And while he was striving for both, the latter was far more important at present; and when it mattered, he misjudged and chose the former, and paid for his error with her tears. What had he said to Ren weeks ago? That one of the jobs of a leader was making the right decisions at the right times? If what had happened that morning was proof that he was not at all behaving like a proper leader, then he wasn't sure what else would.

Jaune's eyes suddenly snapped open as he sensed someone moving behind him, and he looked over his shoulder, hoping to see Pyrrha. Instead, from the stairway appeared Team CFVY with an injured Coco, whose forehead and part of her face was bandaged.

"Coco!" called Ruby, getting the attention of the others. "How are you?"

"I certainly don't look stylish, but I'm alright" she replied, smiling despite her injuries.

"I told her she should be resting, but she wanted to watch the Singles Round in person" explained Yatsuhashi, clearly not pleased with his captain.

"I told you I'm fine, you big lug!" she fired back, wrapping her knuckle across his chest plate armour. "Anyways, I wanted to cheer on whoever is going to kick that kid's ass."

"Em you mean" suspected Yang. "I doubt they'll send her to the Singles. It's probably gonna be Mercury."

"Whichever; I wanna see'em lose, either by you, Wukong, or Nikos" Coco dismissed with a wave, before looking at her underclassmen. "Speaking of which, where is the champ?"

Jaune could feel his teammates' eyes rest on him, causing his guts to twist with guilt.

"She's still getting ready" he lied quickly.

"Well she better hurry up. It's the last day of the tournament, and they're gonna be selecting who's going first soon. Everyone's looking forward to seeing her fight" the older Beaconite lamented, before she and her team took their seats further down to the left.

"Where is she?" asked Ren, leaning towards the blond, starting to show his own worry about the redhead.

"Don't worry, she'll be here" Jaune replied, dodging the question. While he honestly didn't believe that Pyrrha would suddenly ditch the tournament, he also didn't have much confidence in his ability to make correct judgements.

"But the tournament is about to st–" chimed in Nora, visibly worried, but was cut off by their fears coming to life.

"Good afternoon one and all!" boomed Professor Port over the speakers of the Coliseum. "I am your commentator, Professor Peter Port, joined once again by my friend and colleague, Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck, and we warmly welcome you to the final day of the Vytal Festival Tournament!" The crowd erupted in cheers and applause, clearly eager to see how the four day competition would conclude. "My, aren't you all eager today. But before we begin, we must give everyone a quick recap. Over the course of the past three days, we've made our way through the Teams Round and the Doubles Round. Sixteen teams cut down to eight, and cut down again to four, where the remaining four combatants will fight one on one for three spots on the podium. However, due to the special nature of this year's tournament, we allowed the favoured competitors from Beacon and Shade to face some high ranking special guests from Mistral. They all put on some incredible bouts, and despite the stacked odds, defeated their more experienced opponents, allowing them both to progress to the Singles Round. This has given us an odd number of combatants from all four Kingdoms. To balance this, more special Huntsmen-in-training from Haven Academy will be entering the Singles Round; with special pot bonuses as compensation."

'No you won't' smirked Cinder villainously, gingerly cradling her tablet on her lap, having already set the matches so that their plan could go into affect smoothly.

"The combatants that survived the first two rounds are Pyrrha Nikos of Team JNPR and Yang Xiao Long of Team RWBY of Beacon, Sun Wukong of Team SSSN of Shade, Mercury Black of Team CLME of Haven, and Penny Polendina of Team PKTS of Ýdalir! But I will allow Bart to give you the skinny on how the Singles Round will progress!"

"Indeed and thank you, Peter! The Singles Round is different than the previous two. Firstly, and most obviously, it shall consist of one on one matches between the remaining combatants; no ally support of any kind. Secondly, there will be no added biomes to affect the outcome of the matches; it's skill or nothing. Thirdly, to win the tournament, the combatants must win two matches; semi-finals and grand-finals. Fourthly, for this special case, new combatants from the aforementioned Teams RROI and LION will join the Singles bracket to even out the odd number of combatants. Fifthly, due to these modifications, all Huntmasters have agreed to add pot bonuses so that all finalists who made it on their own strength, will receive a cash prize; an apology for any and all inconveniences. And lastly, there will be no dividing of the Round; you _must_ fight till there is a victor" explained Oobleck in a single breath without becoming winded.

The two professors continued to banter between one another, but Jaune wasn't paying attention. They would be selecting the first students to fight soon, and Pyrrha still wasn't here. What were they going to do if she was called? Was she _actually_ not going to show?

'There's no damn way' he thought, fighting against the anxiety that was reaching a fever pitch.

"Good afternoon, everyone" came a soft voice behind him. His head once against snapped over his shoulder to see Pyrrha at last standing before him; a soft smile that stopped before her eyes.

"Pyrrha!" cried Ruby in relief.

"Where the fuck have you been?" demanded Yang hotly. "They're about to announce the first match!"

"I'm sorry to make you all worry. I was just taking my time to collect my thoughts" she partially lied. "It just took longer than I expected."

The others looked at her suspiciously. This time it was far clearer that there was something wrong, but they weren't sure of what it could be. They suspected that Jaune knew something, but he had been rather vague about the whole thing. The only one who had any form of inclination was Blake, who was still worried about Cinder and her team. Nevertheless, they all wanted to ask the redhead questions, but were also aware that there was no longer any time to do so.

Pyrrha silently sat next to Jaune, which caused the blond's chest to tighten as she didn't even look at him. Was she angry at him for what happened that morning? The thought of her hating him for any reason was more painful than he could describe, and he desperately wanted to apologize and atone for his mistakes. He couldn't do so in front of everyone, not to mention he had proven that he was hopeless with getting his feelings across with words. Jaune moved his right hand slowly to take hers, hoping that how they had been communicating their feelings for one another through hand holding would convey how sorry he was. However, the moment his fingers touched the top of her hand, she recoiled. His heart instantly lodged itself in his throat, now fearing that he truly had angered her, and anxiety flooded his thoughts.

What he didn't know was that Pyrrha's recoil was not intentional. She desperately wanted to hold his hand, to be comforted by him, as she knew he was the only one who could. Pyrrha had just been taken by surprise, deep in her own thoughts, trying to both anticipate what would transpire, and to calm herself. When she looked over at the blond, she saw the pained expression on his face, which only appeared even more hurt by his saddened azure eyes. An arrow driven into her heart would have hurt less. More than ever she just wanted to confess everything; anything she could do to take away his pain, she would do in a heartbeat. But she knew she would be breaking her oath if she did, and now that today was the crucial moment of truth, she couldn't break it now. If words could not be spoken, then she would convey her emotions as she always had; for both their sakes.

Unfortunately, that chance had already passed them by.

"And the first match will be between Yang Xiao Long and Mercury Black!" announced Port.

Pyrrha looked to the holoscreens wide-eyed, as one of her fears had just become a reality.

"Alrighty! Let's do this thing!" grinned the blonde, rising to her feet excitedly.

"Good luck, sis!" cheered Ruby, earning a quick head rub.

"Keep a clear head out there" advised Weiss, knowing that was probably asking for too much.

"And be careful" added Blake.

"Don't worry, I got this" Yang assured, making her way towards the stairway.

"Avenge me!" Coco shouted.

"I'll kick him right in the head for ya!"

"Please be careful" Pyrrha managed, her tone causing the elder Xiao Long to halt. "Keep your hands up and don't over commit to attacks you aren't certain will land. And don't let him set the pace."

Yang eyed her friend for a moment before smirking in comprehension.

"Got it. Thanks, Pyrrha" she replied before continuing on her way.

Jaune looked at his lieutenant, noticing the tone in her voice had not been as steady as it normally was; as if there was some part of her _pleading_ to Yang, rather than advising. Indeed, that was what Pyrrha was doing, as there was nothing else she could do. Her eyes rose to the private skybox that overlooked the arena, and saw the Huntmasters in their seats. She didn't know what their plan was or when it would go into effect, but she knew that time had run out. It was now or never. She shut her eyes and began to pray, succumbing to the truth that it was out of her hands.

Below, Yang and Mercury entered the arena, both grinning eagerly.

"You better not go easy on me" she warned. "I need to the warm up before I take on Pyrrha."

"You wish" laughed the kick-boxer, playing the part as best he could.

"Fighters ready?" Port boomed, causing them both to take stances. "Three...two...one...BEGIN!"

Yang immediately bolted at Mercury, reeling back her right fist before throwing a heavy punch at him. The crippled young man performed a spinning back kick to meet the blonde's attack, his boot connecting with her fist, causing a loud impact and shockwave. The force of the collision reverberated up Mercury's robotic leg and continued up his torso, going straight for his damaged ribs. He gritted his teeth as the pain rocked him, but he refused to give in. He only had to keep this up for a few minutes, just to give Emerald enough time to create her illusion.

In another part of the Coliseum, the girl in question was sitting amongst the crowd, watching the fight with care. She was sitting near one of the exits, knowing she would need a quick escape route once Cinder would activate the full force of the trojan. Until then, she knew that she would have to keep a very close eye on it in order to know when she could begin her part of the plan. Mercury had been right that if she messed things up, then the entire plan would collapse. She didn't want to think of the consequences of failure, either what would happen to her or how Cinder would react. She wouldn't fail. No matter what happened, she would succeed. Taking a breath, she began to gather her Aura, and locked eyes with the arena, unblinking.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you" came a gruff voice behind her.

Emerald flinched in shock, and looked over her right shoulder to see Qrow sitting behind her with a stone cold face. She then felt something just as cold touch her right arm. She looked to see that the older Huntsman was pressing the flat of an ornate dagger against the lower part of her bicep. She was too shocked by the situation to ask why he was using the dagger that way, instead of pressing the tip against her back, but she was able to feel him grip Thief's Respite and remove it from their holsters.

"Interesting situation we find ourselves in, Qrow Branwen" she managed to say, knowing she needed to buy time to think of a way out of this.

"Oh, you know who I am? I'm flattered" Qrow replied, his tone not quite matching his words, for it was cold and slightly venomous.

"You shouldn't be. Your reputation doesn't seem to precede you. What exactly do I need to be afraid of again? Ozpin's drunk bird."

"I don't think you know who am I am then. That's fair, I don't exactly know who you are, other than your Semblance can create illusions; which is why I decided to pay you a visit."

'You son of a bitch' she cursed, biting her bottom lip. "So what are you going to do? Kill me?"

"That's yet to be determined" Qrow admitted. "I'll leave that to you. Now, while we sit and watch the match, why don't I take a page out of my old profession and teach you how you messed up. I used to be a teacher, did you know that?"

"No thanks. I'm not much of a student" Emerald shot back, watching her window to cast her illusion slowly shrink.

"Too bad. So your first mistake was not covering your tracks. You, a small time thief, and that kid, the son of a top assassin; you should have covered your tracks before entering this tournament. Then again, gathering intel on you wasn't too hard given what we had at our disposal."

"Roman...that bastard" she realized aloud. 'Did you break or did you sell us out?'

"No, actually" Qrow corrected, half-respectfully. "He never said a word. Jimmy's been working on him for weeks, and he never gave you up. We're kind of impressed by his toughness and loyalty. It's a shame he's a gangster cuz it's hard to find resolute men like that these days. Anyways, what I meant by intel was confirming that you and your team aren't from Haven. Other students have told us they don't know who you are, so we had to expand our search to get an ID on you. Black wasn't hard as I had a run-in with his old man years ago, and I can see the resemblance a mile off. You on the other hand came up in some police records; petty thievery and other small offenses. What an _elite_ task force.

So that was your first mistake. The second was that shit trojan you used. After your friend Cinder uploaded it the night of the Dance, Jimmy's and our cyber teams did a full scan of our networks and found it. Instead of taking it down, we decided to just watch it, see what you were up to, and just plan around it, letting you think you were still in control of the situation. Also, I'd hate to forget quoting the head of the cyber division telling us about it, where he said 'The fuck is this? Amateur hour?'. He was _actually_ annoyed. Your third mistake isn't _technically_ your fault, as there was no way you could have known. But since they're working with you, I figured you should know. We knew that you teamed up with Taurus and his branch of the White Fang, and are planning to attack the city from the south with a large swarm of Grimm pincering from the north. Jimmy's been working on that along with the Valian Generals, which are no doubt laying waste as we speak. That's why we asked those nice kids from Haven to join the tournament; just to buy Jimmy's boys enough time to clean up the mess without the poor festival goers knowing. Am I missing anything? No, I think that's it."

Emerald sat there sweating, feeling her heart beating faster and faster as Qrow explained just how much hot water she was in. She watched the fight between Yang and Mercury continue without interruption, before her eyes moved to the crowd where she saw Cinder, completely unaware that her great plan was already dead. What was she supposed to do now?

"That was a nice story" she said at last. "So what happens now, Branwen? You going to arrest us? Toss us in prison and throw away the key?"

"No, that wouldn't work" Qrow replied. "Given that all of this is off the books, you and your friends are ours to deal with as we see fit. And since you've decided to work for Her, letting you live after nearly killing Amber is not in the cards."

"You don't scare me, Branwen. I don't care whose clan you're the heir to" Emerald hissed back, not wanting to back down. To her discomfort, Qrow merely laughed a slow and coarse three-pronged laugh that sounded even more sinister than Cinder's.

"You _really_ don't know who I am, do you?" he stated more than asked. "Since your friends decided not to clue you in, I might as well tell you. I am indeed the heir to the Branwen clan, despite abandoning them nineteen years ago. Even though I left with my sister, may she rest in peace, as we planned to leave our past behind, for a while she still secretly carried the family name with pride. I don't. I wear it in the open like a brand, so that any and all who know of us will stay clear. What a vile clan we are. Assassinating any and all for those who pay us enough coin, or whom we deem too dangerous to be left alive, and doing so for centuries. Lords, ladies, Knights, holy men, royalty, men, women, children, babies in their cribs; it never mattered, for life is cheap when the bounty is high. To match our taste for death, we perfected our craft as apothecaries, developing poisons that only we could cure. So talented have we become, that our poisons can kill without leaving a trace, instead leaving a trail of death wherever we go. Mysterious deaths throughout history were blamed on us, whether we had anything to do with them or not, granting us a supernatural and unholy reputation. Our clan motto reflects that unholy union with death: Við ristum dauðann með eitruðu víni (We toast death with poisoned wine)."

"H-Harbinger of Death..." breathed Emerald, growing more panic-stricken, and was now sweating profusely. As Qrow monologued, he spoke in a cold, ashen voice, in a way she had never heard anyone speak before. His voice made the young thief feel as if something dark was creeping up behind her, about to swallow her whole, plunging her into a vile abyss.

"Ah...so you _have_ heard of me?" he remarked in a manner that caused the girl to shiver despite the heat of summer at noon. "Did you also know that while I walked away from my family, I haven't given up on the family trade? There's a particular cocktail we like to use called Eitrun Höggormsins; Poison of the Sea Serpent. Its normal potency is so strong that in can kill in less than five minutes. It's not a fast five minutes by the way. It shuts down your motor functions so you can't run, it nearly shuts down your entire respiratory system, making you feel as if you're drinking rather than breathing. You'll start going blind, you're unable to focus your Aura, and according to our records, it makes you feel as if all your organs are on fire; no doubt some ancestor of mine forced some poor test subject to describe what he was feeling as he died. If you _lower_ the potency however, it becomes a useful subduement tool. It makes the poisoned individual lose motor functions and use of their Aura, but doesn't kill them; it just takes hours for it to pass through their system. So the only question that you should be asking me is which recipe of Eitrun Höggormsins did I coat my dagger in?"

"You said I was just a petty thief" she said, her voice now coming out shaky. "And I'm just seventeen. You would really kill a minor?"

"I also said that we Branwens have no problem killing babies" he reminded emotionlessly. "What's a seventeen year old assassin?"

"I'm not an assassin!"

"Tell that to Amber."

"Cinder's the one that did that! I just created the illusion that let her get the jump on the Fall Maiden."

"I don't care" Qrow hissed, pressing the flat of his dagger harder against the fearful girl's arm. " _You_ are working for _Her_. _You_ came to _my_ Kingdom to start a war to engulf the world and put innocent lives at risk. _You_ attacked _my_ friends. _You_ are putting _my_ family at risk. In fact, that's _my_ niece your friend is fighting against; a fight that _you_ were planning to interfere with. So let me ask you this, what are the chances that I chose the weaker version of that poison now?"

A world war? That wasn't what she was told was going to happen. She was just doing this because she owed Cinder for saving her from living on the streets. This wasn't what she signed up for. Her breathing was now coming in sporadically, as fear began to take full control.

"You have two options, kid" he said in a tone that indicated that he was done talking. "Surrender or die. Pick your poison."

Emerald looked back and forth between Cinder and Mercury, feeling torn between betraying them, and securing her own safety. But the cold and sickening reality was, there _was_ no real option if she wanted to live. If she surrendered, then there was at least some chance that the crow that had caught her in his claws, would not be her judge and executioner. It was over. She shut her eyes and dropped her head forward, acknowledging her defeat.

In the arena, Mercury was swearing up a storm in his mind. He was drenched in sweat, though not from exertion, but from having to deal with the growing pain emanating from his damaged ribs. He had been forced to draw out the fight for far longer than he had planned to, waiting for Emerald to give him the signal that she had begun her illusion. Why it hadn't come, he didn't know, and only now was he able to look into the stands where she was seated. At the current moment, she looked like she was just watching the fight, not bothering to do her part.

'What the Hell are you waiting fo–' he began to shout in his mind, when he saw her drop her head, revealing the grimfaced Huntsman that had stopped them from finishing off Amber.

He froze when he realized what was going on, as they both stood up and slowly began to walk to the exit, which even from that distance Mercury could see she had been disarmed. They had been discovered after all, and now he had to fight his way out.

"Fucking damn it!" he swore just as Yang charged at him twisting her body into a spinning back kick. Growling through the pain, Mercury performed the same motion, and would have landed his kick before hers, as he was taller, and thus had longer legs. Unfortunately for him, Yang fired Ember Celica behind her just as she was extending her right leg, giving her not only enough speed to land her attack first, but drastically increase the power. When her boot collided with Mercury's face, he did a full 270° back flip before crashing onto the tiles of the arena, unconscious before hitting the ground.

"Mercury Black has been knocked out by Yang Xiao Long!" announced Oobleck with gusto, knowing that the plan was now in motion. "The winner of the first match of the Singles Round is Yang Xiao Long of Team RWBY!"

The crowd cheered in approval whereas the Mistralese groaned as their last student had been knocked out of the tournament. The aforementioned blonde pumped her fists in triumph and held them to the sky, taking in the cheers of the spectators. Team RWBY jumped to their feet and cheered with glee, happy to see that their teammate would advance to the next match. Teams JNPR, SSSN, and CFVY were happy as well, with the exception of Pyrrha, who sat there stunned.

'She...won?' she thought, feeling a mix of emotions at this unexpected result.

She of course felt incredible relief that Yang had won without being injured by the imposter, as well as the fact that he was no longer in the tournament. However, what continued to feed her anxiety, was the question of what was to come next. Come to think of it, what was the plan of Cinder and her assassins by entering the tournament? To distract or cause a disturbance, to hurt her friends, or was _she_ their target? Did they know she was the next candidate to inherit the Fall Maiden's powers? Regardless, she was now wondering if the Order assumed that Yang was strong enough to defeat Mercury. With all due respect to her friend, she was certainly not disciplined enough as a fighter to defeat an enemy strong enough to face a Maiden. And yet, she had defeated him. Pyrrha was aware that he had been holding back when they had sparred, but perhaps he wasn't much stronger than she believed. There were many questions that needed answering, but the one that was still at the forefront of her mind, was what was the Order planning?

This strain of thought was not unique to the Mistralese champion, as on the other side of the Coliseum was a dumfounded Cinder Fall, staring in stunned fury as her defeated assassin was placed on a stretcher and carried out of the arena.

'What is going on?!' she screamed in her mind. 'Emerald!'

Her eyes flew to the spot where she knew her illusionist was seated, and nearly shrieked when she barely caught a glimpse of her being escorted by Qrow through the exit. She couldn't see what happened next, though it certainly would have infuriated her further. A pair of Atlassian soldiers lying in wait stunned and shackled the girl, before whisking her away into their custody as Qrow tapped the earpiece attached to his right ear.

"We got the green one" he announced. "You got eyes on Black Bishop?"

"Roger, sir" came a voice through the secured channel.

In a hidden spot atop the Coliseum, a White Army sniper was overlooking the entire building, and began to swivel his scope away from the exit where Qrow had used, over to where Cinder had been.

The false-Maiden was now on her feet and storming away as she tapped her Scroll angrily, placing a call that connected near instantly.

"Neo! Forget the plan! Meet me at the east wing of the arena, now!" she hissed before ending the call and putting both her Scroll and her tablet away. The sniper had caught her halfway before she reached the exit, and called in she had become aware of her plans failing.

"Black Bishop is moving, I repeat, Black Bishop. Permission to engage?" he asked, his thumb resting on a switch to disengage his rifle's safety.

"Fuck no! We need her alive!" Qrow spat, sprinting through the halls of the Coliseum. "You job is recon only; so look out if she runs back out the exit. Hold her till I get there!"

As soon as Cinder entered the exit, she saw that the lights had been shut, so that only the sunlight from the exit itself illuminated the first dozen feet or so of the hall. What caused her to halt however, were the figures that emerged from the darkness of the four-way hall intersection. From the right came Robin, Ian, and Allen, and from the left came René, Pierre, and Ivoire.

"Cinder Fall" said Robin coolly, knocking an arrow into his bow as his teammates drew their polearms, while Team RROI leveled their rifles. "In the names of the Kingdom of Vale and the Kingdom of Mistral, you are under arrest for espionage, sabotage, impersonation, conspiring against a foreign Kingdom, treason, and undoubtedly many more charges. Surrender any and all weapons..."

Cinder wasn't going to sit there and listen to the bowman's monologue, and quickly turned for the exit, when something dropped from above and blocked her path. It was Diego, who had been camouflaged due to his attire, and now stood before her with his revolver drawn; his right hand resting on his parrying dagger.

"...for there is no escape" Robin finished.

"You've been outfoxed, chiquita" Diego remarked with a smirk.

Cinder looked at the smirking Fox Faunus with disgust, before turning to look at all the other senior Huntsmen-in-training.

"If you think that any of you can stop me–" she began to hiss.

"You've lost, bitch" came Qrow's rough voice from the darkness. His eyes glowed red, and remained so as he stepped into the light from behind the first six students, a sombre scowl on his face. "I'm not in the mood to explain again just how badly you fucked up. Just know that we've been planning a counter-attack for weeks, and every step you took, we were watching and planning five steps ahead. The trojan, the Grimm, the White Fang, the CCT, everything. Make things easy for yourself and surrender."

Cinder stared at the Branwen heir with teeth bare and the fury of a thousand suns in her eyes. She had made the call to continue going forward with the plan, truly believing they were still operating undercover. She thought that Ozpin's bizarre inclusion of other Mistralese students was nothing more than his and Ironwood's hubris. The fact they had been aware of everything that she had spent months planning, and without her knowing strategized around it, filled her with wroth. Cinder could hear the comments of her critics echo in her mind, warning her that she was over her head, and she would disappoint Her. If she did fail, the consequences were painfully easy to imagine; her Queen's face materializing in her mind, painted with disapproval and disappointment.

That realization caused Cinder to make her decision, clenching her hands into trembling fists. She had not come this far, crawling through years of pain, to be denied all the power she had been owed.

"No..." she growled, as fire began to burn from her left eye. Qrow instantly reached for Harbinger as Robin brought his bow to full draw. The others all took stances, ready to subdue her by any means necessary, though remembering that they had strict orders to capture her alive. "No I won't surrender! If I can't bring about the fall of Albion and Beacon Academy by using your own men and weapons against you, then I shall do it myself." Fire began to form in her hands and she spread her arms wide, almost in a taunting manner. "I will burn every man, woman, and child in this Coliseum, turning this place into the largest funeral pyre the world has ever seen. Then I will take the remaining half of the Fall Maiden's power, and burn this city to the grou–"

Suddenly, Cinder stopped speaking and began to choke, clutching at her throat and gasping for air. A green ball of Aura had materialized around her head, along with a complex green sigil below her feet, snuffing out the flames she had summoned. The Mistralese students were confused at what was happening, as they all knew that none of them were doing this. Qrow of course knew exactly what was going on, and relaxed his grip on his weapon, as he waited for the caster to make his appearance.

"You shall not harm a single soul in either this arena or the city..." a voice emerged from the darkness.

The senior students turned to look behind them as something green and glowing approached. They then realized that it was Huntmaster Ozpin, walking steadily with his right hand outstretched and eyes glowing green, his face stony and cold. They began to part to allow him passage, while Qrow continued to watch the struggling false-Maiden, who was staring at the silver-haired Huntsman in fearful anger.

From her perspective, and possibly hers alone, Cinder could have sworn that she saw a figure standing behind and above the Huntmaster. It was faint, but she could make out the form of an armour clad man, wearing a tattered monastic scapular, a longsword at his hip, and a torn cape around his shoulders. Was this his Semblance, or was it a hallucination brought on by the lack of oxygen? She would never find out the truth, as Ian took advantage of the situation by grabbing her with his right hand, and drove her back-first into the wall. He did so with such force that Cinder created a spider web crack that reached to both the ceiling and the floor. It did its job however, as she was unconscious upon impact, and fell to the ground in a heap.

"Hey, we need her alive, amigo" Diego remarked, noticing that the blow had caused her nose to bleed.

"You expected me to be delicate with her after she threatened children?" Ian shot back, obviously agitated by the imposter's comments.

"I fully understand your feelings, Mr. Oak" Ozpin said calmly as he knelt beside Cinder, and passed his hand over her, green runes emerging from it before vanishing into the air. "However, as much as she deserves death for her crimes, we need her alive to answer for them."

Suddenly, all present turned around to see a mortified Neo staring at them. Before anyone could speak, she opened her parasol and jumped backwards.

"Stop her!" shouted Qrow, causing the others to raise their weapons. However, Neo then stumbled and began to fall, but was stopped from hitting the ground by a tall man everyone recognized, accompanied by two White Army soldiers.

"I see that you have ended the party before I could attend" he said with a smirk.

"Fantastic timing, Olivier!" chimed Allen.

"Is she the last of them?" the captain of Team RROI asked.

"Within the Coliseum, yes. The rest shall be dealt with by Huntmaster-General Ironwood. You two" Ozpin said to the soldiers "take the girl into your custody. Qrow and I shall take Cinder Fall. The rest of you, get to your positions."

All complied and set about their tasks as Qrow grabbed the now unconscious Cinder, and threw her over his shoulder, before tapping his earpiece.

"Black Bishop and Torchwick's second in command are down. Operation Rat Hunt is complete. Ball's in your court, Jimmy" he said.

In the private skybox, the General, strangely still seated next to Ozpin, pressed his own ear piece closer to muffle the sound of the crowd, and nodded in approval.

"Roger that and well done" he replied before pressing a button to switch channels. "Major Schnee."

" _Yes, sir!_ " Winter replied on the other end.

"You have permission to commence Operation Fox Hunt. May the Gods be with you."

" _Yes, sir. Over and out._ "

At the other side of the city, Winter was standing before a battalion of four hundred Atlassian soldiers, all armed to the teeth and ready for combat.

"Soldiers! On your feet!" she bellowed, causing them all to snap to attention and perfectly form into ranks. "Our mission is now in motion! Are you ready to fight against the vile hordes that slew our brothers and countrymen?"

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" they sounded off.

"East Battalion, sound off!" she ordered into her earpiece.

" _Captain Derfflinger, ready._ "

"South Battalion!"

" _Captain Seydlitz, ready._ "

"West Battalion!"

" _Captain Karl, ready._ "

"Advance onto the target!" Winter ordered. "For the glory of Atlas!"

With pride and determination, the soldiers of the White Army marched towards where the White Fang forces were located, planning to surround them and achieve total victory.

"Shame we couldn't bring the Wolf Pack with us on this mission, eh Major?" asked a soldier just behind Winter. "Given the mission is called 'Fox Hunt' and all."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Winter laughed.

"Indeed. Ulfhi would have loved to join us on this hunt" she replied. "Let us bring them plenty of White Fang pelts as souvenirs from Vale, men!"

The soldiers under her command responded with one united shout of approval, more than willing to adhere to their Major's suggestion, for their mission was more than just defending Albion and the millions that lived there. It was more than subduing a wanted terrorist that wished to repeat his crimes in another Kingdom. It was a deep-rooted desire to right the wrongs done upon the innocent; a righting that had been so long overdue. To avenge the fallen at Mantle, they would crush Adam Taurus, once and for all.

λΛλ

Aboard the Atlassian flagship, the KAAS _Veðrfölnir_ , Roman Torchwick sat in his cell within the brig. All things considered, he rather enjoyed his near daily chats with the General, playing the game of debate with him. He hadn't revealed a single detail about Cinder's plans, nor her true identity or that of the others. He was doing his part of course, which was to wait until the overall plan went into motion, to which he would then get to work on the task he was given. He knew that today was that day, and waited for the signal. However, it was taking longer than he knew it should, and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. He began to tap his foot, trying to calm himself, knowing that panicking would do nothing but make the situation worse. Nevertheless, he knew what was at stake, and what he could lose if the plan failed.

'Neo...' he thought forlornly, his hands balling into tightly clenched fists.

λΛλ

In the reserved seating of the Coliseum, Yang returned triumphant once again.

"Now _that_ was a good fight!" she sang, grinning from ear to ear.

"You were great!" cheered Ruby, hugging her big sister proudly.

"Yes, you did quite well" acknowledged Weiss, nodding slowly.

"Good job" added Blake with a small smirk.

"Thanks for the advice by the way, Pyrrha" the blonde noted, punching the redhead lightly on her right shoulder.

That tap pulled Pyrrha out from her thoughts, and helped her manage a small smile.

"Happy to help. Congratulations" she said genuinely.

"So..." continued Yang, sitting down with her team, "whose next?"

"We don't know yet, but they should announce it now" answered Sun eagerly.

As if on cue, Professor Port began to speak to the crowd.

"Let's begin the selection for the second match of the day!" he announced, as the digital roulette wheel spun. After a few seconds, the wheel landed on its two combatants. "And it shall be between Pyrrha Nikos of Beacon and Penny Polendina of Ýdalir!"

The crowd began to cheer excitedly as Pyrrha took a deep breath, before rising to her feet.

"Good luck, Pyrrha!" said Nora with a toothy grin.

"Do your best out there" added Ren, also smiling.

The others gave her their best wishes as her eyes finally met Jaune's.

"Good luck..." he said quietly, only getting a nod from the redhead before she walked away.

Everyone looked at the blond captain in confusion, noticing just how off things were between the normally romantic couple.

"OK, what the Hell was that?" asked Yang. "What's up with you two?"

"Did you two have a fight?" asked Ren more quietly, so that only Jaune could hear him.

"It's..." he began, not even certain where he would begin to explain, "I don't know."

There was a moment of silence before Ren looked at his friend with serious eyes.

"Go after her" he advised soundly.

Jaune looked at him with uncertainty, remembering what happened the last time he had done that, and it was now causing him to hesitate.

"I..."

"Jaune" said Nora, looking at him with the most serious expression that he had ever seen her make. " _Go._ "

The captain swallowed nervously before at last getting to his feet, and sprinted after Pyrrha.

λΛλ

Pyrrha stood with hesitation at the entrance to the arena, doing her best to steady herself before the match. She had to keep calm and let the Order do what they must. While she had been obsessed with the match, fearing for Yang, she had managed to notice that the entirety of Team CLME had vanished from the stands. It was unsettling not knowing where they were, but she hoped it meant that the Order had finally taken action and arrested them. This of course was the case, though she did not know it, but nevertheless forced herself to accept it as the truth for the time being. If anything were to change, no doubt she would be informed; therefore, her entire focus should be on the match and nothing else. However, that final interaction with Jaune had caused another wave of guilt to wash over her. To quash it, she swore to herself that she would tell him everything when the tournament concluded, and she would pressure the Order to give her permission.

While nowhere near calm enough for her liking, Pyrrha nevertheless forced herself to enter the arena, and was about to step forward, when she heard someone enter the waiting area.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune breathed, his face filled with worry.

"Jaune..." she whispered, the guilt she had managed to tamp down, albeit slightly, returning in full force. 'Please...not before the match. I can't bear to fight with you again...'

The blond looked at her with clear torment in his eyes. He wanted to drop to his knees and beg for her forgiveness, take her into his arms and embrace her, and demand to know the truth, all at the same time. And yet, the words were lodging themselves into his throat, leaving him mute. He would have remained there silent for far longer, when he saw the panic in her eyes, which gave him the kick in the pants that he needed. He walked up to her, which caused Pyrrha to take a half step back, as she did not know what he was going to do. He placed his hands on her shoulders, though far more gently than he had that morning, and kissed her on her right cheek.

She looked at him stunned as he pulled away, blushing deeply.

"F-For luck" he stammered. They locked eyes in complete silence for a moment, before he continued, no longer able to contain his feelings. "I-I'm sorry for this morning. I should have been more patient and waited for you to tell me what's wrong without being forceful. I didn't have enough information and just acted on instinct, and I made you cry because of it. I just couldn't stand seeing you so stressed and scared. I'm sorry for how I acted, but I meant what I said about being here for you no matter what. Whenever you want to talk about it, I'll be right here. I just hope you aren't mad at me or hate me for how I acted–"

Pyrrha cut his rambling off by jumping into his arms, and wrapping hers tightly around his neck. He instinctively hugged her back, it feeling more right than anything he had ever experienced before. She pulled away slightly and kissed both his cheeks, before touching his right with her hand. He was stunned by her sudden show of affection, and was about to speak, but when he saw her warm genuine smile, his breath was taken away.

"Thank you, Jaune" she said softly, feeling the anxiety in her chest being lifted. "That means the world to me."

"Y-You're not mad at me?" he asked, taken aback.

"I could never be mad at you; if anything, I was mad at myself for how I acted" Pyrrha replied. "Did I hurt you?"

"Not much more than you usually do when we train. I'd rather the bruises than seeing you cry like that, so don't hate yourself for what happened; it was an accident."

"Alright. And I meant that I would tell you everything when the tournament is over. You have my word."

The blond gazed into her emerald eyes, and saw the fear that clouded them was no longer there.

"I guess it's my turn to wait, huh?" he sighed with a small smirk.

The redhead giggled, causing her captain's heart to beat, realizing just how much he missed her laughter.

"It looks that way" she said playfully. "Will you cheer me on?"

"Of course. I'm your biggest fan, after all."

"You better be!" she laughed, hugging him again. "I have to go."

"I know" Jaune sighed sadly, wanting this moment to last forever. "Give it all you've got out there."

"I will" Pyrrha promised, pulling away and allowing him to reluctantly walk back to the entrance to the locker area. She watched him go, and maintained her gaze to the door way, feeling the happiest she'd been in what felt like ages. "Se agapó (I love you)" she said quietly, praying for the tournament to come to an end, so she could say it to him directly. Taking one final breath to steady herself, she touched the golden chain that hung around her neck, her fingers resting on the pendant of a bursting star encircled with a laurel wreath. "Se aftó to simádi tha kataláveis (In this sign thou shall conquer)" she vowed before removing it, and stepped into the sunlight.

As Pyrrha walked up the path that led to the arena, she saw that Penny was already standing in her starting position. The ginger robot stood patiently with a pleasant smile on her face, when she suddenly heard a voice in her head.

" _Penny._ "

'Yes, sir?' she replied in her mind.

" _I am aware that you've been looking forward to this match, but I think you should take it a little easy today_ " Ironwood advised.

'Is this for the success of the mission?' she asked.

" _It is._ "

Penny remained silent for a moment before replying. 'Understood, sir.'

" _Is everything alright?_ "

'Oh, yes! It is simply...Miss Pyrrha Nikos is Miss Ruby's friend, and I don't want to hurt Miss Ruby's friends, but I want to fight her to test my abilities, and I must fight her as it is my duty as a soldier of Atlas...' Penny expressed. '...I feel... _conflicted_ , sir.'

Ironwood chuckled. " _I know, but Miss Nikos is involved with this mission, and she must move on through the tournament. Your original purpose for entering has been fulfilled, so now we're simply modifying the objective. I'm sure that we can arrange a private match between the both of you after we complete the mission._ "

'I would like that very much!' Penny chimed happily. 'I will not fail, sir!'

" _Atta girl_ " the Atlassian Huntmaster encouraged. " _Have fun and good luck_."

They concluded their call just as Pyrrha arrived at her starting position.

"Good afternoon and salutations, Pyrrha Nikos!" Penny greeted with a right handed salute.

The redhead smiled humorously at the ginger. She was certainly an odd girl, but she obviously was a good person at heart.

"Good afternoon, Penny" she returned politely. "You seem eager for today's match."

"Of course! I finally get to have a proper challenge" she said honestly, her smile then fading slightly. "Although, I am not so eager to fight a friend of Miss Ruby."

Pyrrha nodded. "I understand fully. I don't want to hurt any of my friends or the friends of my friends. However, this is a tournament after all, and I wouldn't want to disrespect you by not treating you as a serious opponent."

Penny's smile then returned in full.

"Then we have come to a mutual understanding and compromise."

In the reserved seating, Jaune returned at last and took his spot next to Ren and Nora.

"Is everything OK?" they asked in unison.

"Yeah" he replied softly, smiling honestly. "We cleared things up and we're good now."

"Did you give her a good make-up kiss?" asked Coco.

"Yeah" Jaune replied, but instantly realized what he had said as everyone's eyebrows lifted. "O-On the cheek! For luck, ya know?"

"Are they seriously still at that stage?" the injured captain asked the others.

"Embarrassing, isn't it?" remarked Yang.

"It's beyond me why they're taking so long" added Nora.

"I kinda respect it; ya know, the childlike innocence of it" smirked Sun.

"Alright! Will all of you just shut up and watch the match?" snapped the blond, folding his arms and leaning back in his seat, as the others laughed at his expense.

"Fighters ready?" announced Oobleck, causing Pyrrha to draw Akoúo and Miló, and Penny to take a fighting stance. "Three...two...one...BEGIN!"

λΛλ

In an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the Industrial District, members of the White Fang were moving about at a steady pace. A command post had been established to direct their forces within the city as well as abroad, and were now tying any and all loose ends before they received the signal to launch their assault. A high ranking member of the revolutionary group was leaning over a C2 station beside the designated watchstander, coordinating with their signallers. Behind them, sitting on a steel crate, was a tall Bull Faunus at 6'4", wearing an asymmetrical black, long-sleeved, double-breasted stylized high-collared blazer with slit sleeves, along with red thorn sigils adorned with a white crest that lined up on his left shoulder. His suit jacket had crimson lining atop his red shirt, with red thorn sigils atop a black flap attached to the bottom of the left hem. A wilting rose emblem was on the back, set over an emblazoned white sigil resembling the curved stems and flower of the Atropa belladonna plant; commonly known as deadly nightshade. His blazer was half-buttoned, exposing a red shirt with a black line running parallel to his collar under it. On his face was a modified White Fang Grimm mask with red symbols that sat below a pair of black and red horns, surrounded by spiking auburn hair. He wore long black dress pants and black shoes, with matching black gloves with red Omega sigils sown into them.

He was leaning over a long red sword, an elongated chokutō, running the edge of the blade on a whetstone with long slow strokes; making sure that it was razor sharp, for he planned to use it well. With every stroke, he felt his own focus sharpening; the image of a young girl materializing in his mind. Before it was complete, he heard commotion coming from the C2 stations, and he turned his head slowly to look at them.

"Report" he ordered in a steady but commanding voice.

The high ranking White Fang member turned to look at his commander with a venomous expression, frustration clearly visible in his amber eyes, as his pupils were black vertical slits. He was tall, even more so than the Bull Faunus, but much thinner, with shoulder length white hair and pale complexion.

"We're getting reports that the Grimm in the north are being engaged by Valian and Atlassian forces" he hissed.

"How many?"

"Six brigades between the two Kingdoms; estimations of thirty thousand men" he answered, twitching at the final word before pushing away from the station and walked towards his commander. "Either they redirected troops from Albion, or they deployed more troops from Atlas directly. But if that was the case, they would have been attacked by the Grimm hordes!"

"There aren't even a thousand soldiers apiece stationed at the capital, and no reinforcements have been ordered" the Bull Faunus pointed out, continuing to examine the condition of his sword. "There's normally only a single border brigade defending the northern coastal border of Vale. Reinforcing their guard with two more as opposed to their city defences is suspicious enough as it is, but six with half coming from Atlas..."

"Commander Taurus! Vice-Commander Sterling!" shouted one of the watchstanders. "Reports are coming in of two tank battalions emerging from the forest! They and the soldiers are being supported by field artillery; between twenty and forty batteries!"

"What?" hissed Sterling. "Have they fully mobilized for war?"

"The Atlassian armour have specific designated markings. We're cross referencing them now" the watchstander informed, typing into a terminal as he repeated what he was being described through his headset. "A Hagalaz H-rune on the forehead of a white wolf with a spear in its mouth."

Sterling leaned back wide-eyed. "The Ghost Division..."

"Well well. What an honour" smirked Adam. "Atlas' most elite armoured division."

"How could they have all mobilized without us knowing?" demanded the taller Faunus.

"They must have crossed the Sea of Souls and deployed near the border of Vale and Vacuo" Adam mused, turning the blade over slowly. "There they would have moved east-southeast until they cleared the mountains before heading north."

"Such a detour would be hundreds if not thousands of miles long. Through such dense forests no less. That just isn't feasible, my lord."

"It is very much feasible, as it falls completely in line with their past achievements" the amber-haired man reminded. "Over two hundred miles before twilight would take them a week at most using that route. The weather reports indicated thick cloud cover; the very cover we were planning to utilize today. Of course, the weather reports did not hold for us, as the uninterrupted sunshine proves. Such poor luck." 

"A Carrier Air Wing has been spotted in the southern Vytal Sea!" reported another watchstander.

"The _Jörmungandr_..." sneered the Vice-Commander. "It's supposed to be patrolling in the north. It doesn't matter. Even if it gets close, it can't support them unless–"

"There are an unknown number of fighter jets on the carrier; several groups, possibly a full wing!"

"Fully mobilized indeed" remarked Adam. " _Terrible_ luck."

"We still have our objective within the city" Sterling reminded. "Contact Fall and demand to know what is going on!"

"We have White Army soldiers advancing on our position!" cried a scout from above, standing on one of the catwalks near the roof of the warehouse.

"What?!"

"How many?" Adam asked calmly.

"Four battalions led by Major Winter Schnee" said a White Fang member in a raspy voice, who bore a Beowolf Grimm mask, standing in the doorway of one of the warehouse entrances. "They were made aware of our relocating and moved into position during the night."

"And how do you know all of this?"

"I was the one that told them."

Everyone present looked at the one Faunus, frozen in shock.

"And for what reason have you committed this act of treason?" Adam asked slowly.

The traitorous Faunus had only one answer, and it was not the one Adam wanted to hear.

"Long live Commander Belladonna" he said, his voice now clear and deep.

Adam instantly flicked his sword and sent a thin crescent projectile of Aura at the traitor, who barely avoided it, allowing it to pass him and cut through the metal stairs and half of the warehouse wall.

"After him!" ordered Sterling.

"Belay that" countered Adam, attaching his sheath to his left hip. "We have more pressing issues at hand."

"That was–" he began, but immediately shrunk at Adam's knowing look, and bowed apologetically. "Of course, my lord. Do we engage the White Army?"

"No" the Commander said flatly, sheathing his weapon. "Order a full retreat."

"My lord?"

"Enough Faunus blood has been spilt for this frivolous campaign. I will not waste any more. We are leaving, _now_."

The taller Faunus nodded and signaled to the others to bug out. As they began to move, Adam started walking slowly towards the other end of the warehouse, with Sterling walking in step to his right.

"What an unbridled disaster" hissed Sterling.

"Yes. I am sorry for all of this" Adam apologized, taking his second-in-command by surprise.

"My lord! This isn't your doing! It is those vile Humans who have failed us."

"There is no denying that. However, I failed in not arguing more effectively the issues with the overall plan" the Bull Faunus said regrettably. "I warned Lady Salem that Fall was too green, and lacked the experience to handle such a mission. Honestly, utilizing unknown brats and a local gangster as one's cohorts. Humans can be so foolish. Perhaps Lady Salem will listen to me now."

"This will no doubt get back to High Leader Khan" Sterling lamented. "She will not be pleased with any of this. And then there is Belladonna..."

"You leave Sienna to me. After all, this whole venture was in preparation to our overthrowing of her. As for Ghira, he is too busy playing statesman to do anything; getting too comfortable and lazy in Menagerie. Regardless, with the bumbling of Fall and Torchwick, and the tactical prowess of General Ironwood, it will not be difficult to argue my case until the right time to begin our coup arises."

Sterling eyed him carefully. "You sound almost respectful of the White Army General."

Adam chuckled heartily, and he plucked a rose from a bush he had been trimming as he passed it.

"My dear Laban, of course I respect him. He may be a conceded, wretched Human, he is still the youngest General in Atlassian history. Huntmaster-General James Tiberius Ironwood; a brilliant tactician with a lengthy list of achievements over his near twenty year long military career. Killing him will add a tremendous feather to my cap."

Laban paused for a moment before cautiously asking a question that he knew needed to be asked, but wasn't certain of what reaction it would invoke.

"And what of Lady Blake, my lord?"

Adam examined the rose in his right hand and sighed.

"Unfortunately, that will have to wait for another time." He turned the rose over, carefully avoiding its thorns, before bringing it to his nose to take its scent. "My love, our fated reunion must tragically be postponed. But have no fear..."

He threw the rose high into the air, where it hung for a moment before it began to drop. Just before that return to earth, the rose was cut just below the sepals, separating the flower from the hip and stem. This caused the red pedals to disperse in all directions, and gently float down. They all suddenly then became sliced to ribbons, before at last being left alone to float to the cold ground of the warehouse.

"...there is nothing in this world that can keep you from me."

At the other end of the warehouse was a recently constructed tunnel. Their current location was their fallback position that they had been working on for the past half year. The tunnel connected to the Vimy River, the river that divided the upper and lower half of the city of Albion where one end reached the academy, and the other fed into the Sea of Souls. This would be their escape route, as they had built a secret submarine dock at the other end of the tunnel. They were using it far sooner than they had planned, but it would be used nonetheless.

Suddenly, before them opened a red and black portal, ten feet across and ten feet high. From it emerged an individual standing at 5'9, dawning a red and black duster coat, as well as armour, and an imposing black metal plague mask helmet that enclosed the head. The first half of the beak was blood red, as were the rings around the glass eyeholes, which were pitch black, making it impossible to see the eyes. Above them was a human skull, drip painted in the same shade of red, with a pair of Perthro runes facing one another in the centre of the forehead. Lastly, raven feathers poured out the back of the helmet, joining to form a mantle on the warrior's shoulders. A long odachi was attached to the left hip, covered in a black metal scabbard with thin red claw marks down the sides.

While the figure would appear horrifying to the average person, Adam merely smiled in amusement.

"Well well. The red carpet treatment" he remarked. "I'm flattered."

"Get in" the macabre person spoke in a distorted voice, folding its arms to reveal their clawed black gauntlets.

"Certainly. Take enough with you to get all the equipment aboard and man the sub, then set sail immediately to our main base" ordered Adam his men. "The rest of you use the portal."

The White Fang members followed their orders immediately, with a smaller group of them descending through the tunnel entrance carrying the C2 stations, maps, and other equipment, and the remaining group entering the portal. Adam and Laban did not leave just yet, as the shorter Faunus walked towards his "saviour", maintaining his amused smirk.

"And what do I owe this wonderful and most generous gesture, Lady Branwen?"

"These are Lady Salem's orders" she answered coldly. "And cut the false pleasantries. If it were me, I would leave you to die, brat."

Adam chuckled, moving even closer to her.

"Yes, you certainly would. And leave my body to be feasted on by crows, no doubt. How many have you killed today, eh? How many left to die slowly as carrion birds circle above, waiting for them to expire?" As he spoke, he drew ever nearer, leaning forward so that the slit eyeholes of his mask lined up with the dark pits of hers. "And you Humans call _me_ a monster."

"Get in" she repeated venomously, but calmly. "I will not tell you again."

The Bull Faunus held his position for a moment longer, before smiling a little wider and bowing to her courteously.

"A pleasure talking to you as always, Raven. Till the next" he said finally, before standing straight and walking into the portal.

Laban took a single step forward before looking at Raven, towering over her by well over a foot, and opening his jaws wide, revealing a pair of inch long metal fangs. He emitted a menacing hiss, as a long forked tongue flicked out at her, his eyes becoming very narrow slits. After his point had been made, he closed his jaws and followed his commander, disappearing through the portal.

Allowing her arms to drop to her sides, Raven entered the portal herself, leaving the Kingdom of Vale behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there is a lot to cover here.
> 
> I decided to rework the Pyrrha throwing Jaune scene, as to provide a more plausible situation to why she would react as she did. Of course, in the show it goes from 0 to 10 at the drop of a hat, so I made sure that the build-up paid off believably. I'm sure you'll tell me how I did in the comments.
> 
> The interaction between Qrow and Emerald was to show a number of things. The first is that Coco's information was valuable, following through with my confusion as to why it didn't happen in the show. The second is to show who Qrow truly is as a character. I, like many, hate what CRWBY did to Qrow, so I wanted to show him some respect. What I learned once going back to V3 to write this, was that Qrow was a rather unlikeable asshole. He was turned into an unlikeable bitch by V7, in such time I had reworked the character in my mind after I stopped watching the show. As you can see, this is who I believe Qrow should have been, actually having the characteristics of a crow, which are highly protective of their family. The third and final point, was to show the Branwen clan's new history. As I said, I dropped out at V4, so I came up with my own history to Qrow's family, and BOY is mine better than the show. Ravell Aqim, one of my readers, informed me of the Branwen situation in the show, and I howled with laughter, as it causes nothing but plot-holes. As simple as it is, I hope that you enjoy this version of both Qrow and his House. More will be revealed in time. Oh, and one more thing; this makes Qrow's drinking serve a purpose (to test new poisons), rather than it being an empty character trait.
> 
> Then there is the military counter attack. It boggles my mind that only Atlas has a standing army in the world of Remnant. While I fully agree that Huntsmen are the elite, Remnant has FIREARMS. What this means is that you can train troops much faster with firearms, whereas it takes years to train Huntsmen, and not all can become Huntsmen in the first place. Seriously, you have police but not soldiers? This makes the world of Remnant even more unbelievable, as how can the Kingdoms be protected from monsters and Men without armies? How small was the last world war then? This also brings up questions about defences like anti-air guns for airborne Grimm, walls, normal armour, naval ships, air support, etc. What about an air-raid siren for Grimm attacks where everyone has to go underground as the Huntsmen and soldier clear out the Grimm? This isn't hard CRWBY, but alas, only Atlas thought of this, and of course, the show labels them as crazy. Sure -_-
> 
> And then there is Adam and Raven. I am by no means a fan of Adam, far from it, but that doesn't mean I wasn't going to try and make him a threat. One of the ways to do so, is not make him a moron. I know he's nothing more than a discount, Marxist Virgil, but that can still turned into something workable. In this case, I wanted to show he's far above average as a tactician, as well as a dangerous combatant.
> 
> With Raven, I wanted to show just enough to peak everyone's interest; especially setting up that everyone thinks she's dead. That will be explained in time, so I'll quickly explain the change to her design. Firstly, it's insanely dumb for characters to not change their clothing after 20 years; especially when in hiding. CRWBY has a major issue with not changing character designs from the past (look at the photo of Team STRQ). Granted, they've shown they can't do any better as the current redesigns show, but if Raven is in hiding, wouldn't she do more than put on a helmet? Anyways, I wanted to hide her identity from the world, but also show she's a Branwen (something that only those who know of their reputation would fear). Her new design is to reflect her family and their worship of death, they being assassins and such. This all raises major questions, and many will be answered in time.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed all that, and are looking forward for more. Cheers and see you next time.


	12. The Ties That Bind

The match between Pyrrha and Penny had been a rather impressive spectacle. The two young Huntresses-in-training appeared to fly across the arena, dodging and weaving past the attacks they threw at one another. They even took to the skies more than once to battle, both displaying their acrobatic prowess. Despite the fight being so fast paced, Pyrrha had been paying close attention to her opponent as they fought. She had been very much interested in how exactly she was manipulating the many swords she wielded. It did not take her long to discover the truth, which was that Penny was controlling them with nearly invisible steel strings. At first Pyrrha had caught glimpses of something glimmering in the sky, and thought them to merely be camera flashes or something of that sort. Only when her curiosity peeked, did she reach out with her Semblance, and confirmed exactly that the swords were being controlled with steel strings. It was then a quick affair for the Mistralese champion to aim for the strings with Mílo and Akoúo, cutting the swords free, and fully disarming Penny. Pyrrha then summoned the strings to her, and pulled on the Atlassian into several wide arcing swings, before throwing her out of the arena, and knocking her "unconscious" when she struck the walls of the stands.

Securing yet another victory, nearly the entire crowd cheered for Pyrrha. The Valians and the Mistralese were obviously pleased, for while she was fighting for Vale, she was still a champion of Mistral. The Vacuans for their part, were simply enthused in the skill the two displayed. The Atlassians however, groaned in dismay, as their last combatant had been eliminated, left with not even Weiss to cheer for. Though, it wasn't a stretch to assume that they would instead lend Pyrrha their support moving forward.

In the skybox, Ironwood nodded approvingly. The match hadn't been legitimate of course, but Penny had done her job well, and they had nevertheless been some useful information gathered for later upgrades. To his right, Ozpin rose to his feet and walked to the bar, where he procured himself an iced tea, just as another Ozpin entered the skybox and walked towards the balcony. He accepted the beverage from himself, who dissolved into thin air after doing so, and the real Ozpin returned to his chair, seating himself comfortably.

"Cinder Fall has been secured below the school and heavily sedated" he informed, stirring the ice cubes with a straw. "The other three have been placed in your custody for the time being, and are on their way to your flag ship."

"Yes, I've just received word from the crew of their arrival. How I wish I could be aboard to see the look on Torchwick's face" he remarked with a grin.

"A privilege we will unfortunately miss out on for an even greater prize" offered the head of the Order before taking a sip of his drink. "How are things on your end?"

"Our men in the north are raining fire and brimstone" Ironwood replied calmly but contently. "I'm getting reports every quarter-hour, and the whole thing should be resolved within the hour. As for Winter's ground forces, nothing yet."

"We can only pray for her success. Interestingly, Qrow offered to join up with her battalion, but I told him to remain on campus."

The Atlassian Huntmaster chuckled. "He's so laid back with everything else, and yet so tense in making sure the Order succeeds in its plans; including being protective of new recruits."

"Rough around the edges with a good heart; that is our Qrow" Ozpin remarked with a smile. "For now, let us focus on the tournament and the entertaining of our spectators. We've saved the best for last."

"Indeed, the show must go on. The boys are ready?"

"If nothing has gotten in their way."

"Then let's go." 

λΛλ

Pyrrha returned to the reserved seating with her friends eagerly waiting for her.

"Way to go, Pyrrha!" cheered Nora

"You did very well" added Ren with a smile.

"Hmmmm" murmured Ruby, not entirely pleased that one friend lost and another won, but knew that despite the intensity of the final blow that Penny would be alright.

"You finally warmed up, Nikos?" asked Yang, already eager for her next fight, hopefully against the redhead.

"Just about, and thank you, everyone" Pyrrha replied with a smile. Her eyes then rested on Jaune, who was smiling at her proudly. "How did I do?"

"You were awesome out there" he replied, earning himself a warm smile in return, and a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you" she returned warmly, before sitting beside him.

"Enough with the pecks! Give her a proper wet congratulatory kiss!" Coco teased.

The couple blushed, though more due to the secretly shared desire to have such a kiss, than their friends insisting that they take their relationship to the next level.

"You're wasting your breath, Coco. Just let us know that an intense make-out session is gonna be the reward for winning this tournament" Yang pleaded.

"No wonder she's been fighting so hard" remarked Blake, causing the blonde to throw her head back in laughter with the others joining in. Jaune and Pyrrha remained silent with their cheeks stained pink, ignoring them the best they could.

"The next match will be between Sun Wukong of Team SSSN and Diego Iglesias of Team LION!" announced Port.

"Alright! Game time!" Sun whooped as he clapped his hands. "Got any advice for me, Nikos?"

"Diego is very quick on his feet and sharp as a tack. He can be rather deceptive when he needs to be, so expect the unexpected" the redhead offered.

"Will do. I'll be right back" he saluted the others, and giving Blake a wink before scampering off.

"So forgive me for being so out of the loop" began Coco, "but who is this Team LION?"

"They're Pyrrha's mentors from Mistral" replied Weiss. "They were introduced to the tournament after your loss, along with another team called RROI, so that Pyrrha and Sun would not fight so soon."

"That sounds incredibly suspect" remarked Yatsuhashi.

"Well, the reason Huntmaster Ozpin offered was to give Mistral a chance since Pyrrha's fighting for Beacon instead of Haven" explained Neptune.

Team CFVY looked at one another incredulously.

"I don't even know how to respond to that" Coco admitted.

"It's been a rather odd tournament from the beginning" added Pyrrha, though she was now more aware as to why than she had been at the start of the Vytal Festival. "Thankfully everyone has done incredibly well against my upperclassmen."

"Speaking of which, how well do you think Sun will do this time?" asked Blake, as she noticed the Faunus in question entered the ring with his opponent doing the same. Pyrrha was about to provide a response, when Weiss suddenly shrieked, causing everyone to jump.

"The fuck, Weiss?" demanded Yang, sticking her pinkie in her ear as if to clear it.

"Look!" the heiress shouted, pointing at Diego with a flabbergasted expression on her face.

"What are we looking at?" asked Nora.

"The broach on his chest!"

Indeed, there was a blue and gold broach pinned to the left strap of the Fox Faunus' cuirass. It was a heater shield with a flat top and the corners cut in a concave manner, with a pommel of a long sword in the top left corner, a rapier in the top right corner, a katana in the bottom left corner, and a gladius in the bottom right corner. In the centre was a golden M with each point studded with a small ruby.

"Yes, it's really pretty, and I'm sure you have a bunch just like'em at home. What's your point?" Yang remarked.

"It's a Master's Mark!" squealed Weiss, her hands on her cheeks and her eyes sparkling in admiration. "The Duelist Guilds only give those to individuals who qualify as masters of the sword! It takes decades to achieve such a level of skill, if at all! And to think that he managed to become a master at _his_ age. If I could have known beforehand, I would have argued more strongly to be sent to the Singles Round!"

As Weiss continued to gush over Diego, Blake looked at Sun with more worry than she had during his Doubles match. She then felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Well, RIP Sun, I guess" Yang remarked sympathetically.

The Cat Faunus then turned her head to her right to look at Pyrrha, who already had an apologetic expression on her face, and began to bring her hands up as if in prayer.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know he had progressed that far since the last time I spoke with him" she said honestly. She knew that Diego would throw the match, but knowing that Sun going up against a master of the sword would cause Blake such distress, did make her feel rather guilty.

In the arena, Sun and Diego were beginning to banter before the start of their match.

"No hard feelings for beating your teammates, right?" he asked with a smirk.

"Of course not, amigo" replied Diego, tugging on his gloves. "You only bruised their egos, not take their lives; though your friend, Neptune, did make a good impression on Allen."

"Getting a girl, making new friends; I'm real proud of him" Sun said only half-sarcastically. "Your lieutenant hates me though, right?"

"Can't stand you."

"Nice" the Monkey Faunus chirped, clapping his hands once. "Are you pissed at me already?"

"That depends. You are from Vacuo, si?"

"Yup."

"You enjoy tequila?"

"Damn right; just as much as I love rum."

Diego grinned slyly. "Then we have no problems, as my dear mother is from Vacuo. I won't be holding back, however."

"Same here" Sun grinned back.

"Fighters ready?" announced Oobleck, causing both Faunus to draw their weapons. "Three...two...one...BEGIN!"

λΛλ

Aboard the _Veðrfölnir_ , Roman's patience was nearly at the end of its rope. At this point he knew that their window was nearly closed, and the fact that the trojan hadn't activated fully and freed him from his cell, filled him with a large amount of dread.

'What the fuck is that crazy bitch doing?' he thought angrily, unaware of what had transpired.

However, he would be learning the truth soon enough, as he heard footsteps in the brig. He could tell that it was more than a single person, which dashed his hope that Neo had come to spring him from his cell. When the group stepped into view, Roman's eyes widened as he saw not only Neo, but Emerald and Mercury in restraints, surrounded by half a dozen White Army soldiers. Mercury was being carried in a stretcher but was still shackled, along with Emerald having some sort of goggle device on her face, showing just how few chances their captors were taking with them. To enforce that further, the three teenagers had collars around their necks, which Roman instantly recognized as Aura dampeners, specially made to stop prisoners who could wield Aura from using their abilities. One soldier opened the shield of the cell and instructed for Neo and Emerald to take a seat. Two other soldiers then helped Mercury to his feet, and seated him next to Emerald as Neo sat next to Roman. They then unlocked the wrist and ankle restraints, as well as Emerald's goggles, before finally reactivating the shield, all without saying a word to their prisoners. As soon as he could no longer hear the soldiers, he leaned forward and glared with a look that could freeze lava.

"What the fuck happened?" he demanded. "Start talking _now_."

Mercury and Emerald recoiled slightly, never seeing him make such an expression before.

"We got figured out" the kick-boxer replied, recovering first.

"I can see that, kid. I want to know _how_."

Mercury looked over at the green-haired girl, whose eyes dropped to the gray floor of the cell.

"I was in position to use my Semblance to make it look like the bimbo attacked Merc after he lost, and then all of a sudden he was there."

"He? Who's he?"

"Qrow Branwen" answered Mercury. "I don't know what happened, but I could see from the arena that he got to her and forced her out of the stands."

Roman looked at him for a moment before shifting his gaze back to Emerald. Without looking up, the thief could feel his eyes on her, and she continued.

"He pulled a poisoned knife on me, and told me how he and the rest of them knew from the beginning what we were planning; messing with the tournament, the trojan, the Grimm attack in the north, and the White Fang in the south."

"And Cinder?" he demanded. Neo then tapped his shoulder and began to make hand signs. "She was ambushed by the Huntmaster and eight other Huntsmen?" Neo nodded. The gangster then leaned back against the wall of his cell and looked to the ceiling in thought. After a moment, a smile crept across his face and he began to laugh. Mercury and Emerald looked at him as if he had lost his mind. "Well ain't that just peachy? All's well that ends well."

"How can you say that?" spat the thief. "The whole plan can't work without her, and if she isn't here, then we have no idea where she was taken to."

"Boo hoo, I don't care" Roman retorted, bringing his left foot over to his right knee so that his ankle rested on it. "If you've forgotten, kid, I never had _any_ interest in this plan of yours. It was that crazy bitch that needed me so badly that she had to twist my arm to get me to agree to it. So I find it absolutely hilarious that _she_ was the one that messed it all up, and not me. You may think the world of her, but after the shit she pulled, I hope they've already killed her."

Emerald glared at the ginger, wanting to defend Cinder, but given that she didn't know how exactly Cinder had convinced him to help them, she could only assume it wasn't as generous a partnership as hers and Mercury's. When they first met Roman, he had blown them off without a moment's hesitation. The following time, he and Neo were now ready and willing to help, with Neo sticking to Cinder's side when she wasn't allowed to go with Roman. At first she had been confused and unhappy with this out of nowhere favouritism from Cinder, but over time, she had noticed that the mute girl seemed oddly fearful. That fear had been on full display on their way to the Atlassian flag ship, but now was much less so, as she was with Roman again. What exactly was their relationship?

"I wasn't her biggest fan either, but isn't that a bit much, old man?" Mercury shot back with his arms folded across his chest.

"I'm being nice if anything."

"You might as well explain why you hate us so much since we're stuck in here."

"You kids are annoying but fine" Roman admitted with a dismissive wave of his hand. "It's the cunt I wanted gone."

"Like he said; explain yourself" added Emerald with a hard scowl on her face, though taken aback by his strange change of attitude towards them.

Roman eyed the both of them for a few moments before sighing.

"Might as well. Cinder came to me after I told her I wanted nothing to do with her. She tried being diplomatic, but failed miserably to convince me. When I thought it was finally over, she then decided to threaten my daughter's life. If I didn't do what she needed of me, she would kill her. I instantly tried to stop her with my men backing me up, and she killed them all with her stolen Maiden powers. She said if I tried anything, my daughter would be the next to die...so I did what she wanted. So tell me, you two, should I give a rat's ass if that fucking cunt got captured by the Huntmasters?"

Mercury and Emerald sat there stunned at the gangster's story. Out of all the possible reasons they could have come up with to explain his compliance, this was not one of them. They weren't even aware that he had any children, as he certainly didn't appear the family type. Suddenly lightning struck the kick-boxer's head as he remembered their earlier conversation.

"You weren't kidding about that divorce" he said in realization, causing Roman to shrug sheepishly. "So where is she?"

Just as he asked, he noticed Neo leaning her head on the man's shoulder as he took her hand and squeezed it comfortingly.

" _You?_ " gasped Emerald in shock. That was certainly something they hadn't seen coming, though it very much explained quite a bit; why they were so close, why they worked so well together, why Cinder was so fixated on her, and why Neo had shown those moments of fear when Cinder gave her orders. "I'm sorry..." she said quietly.

"Don't be. It's not like I was announcing it for the world to know" sighed Roman. "I wasn't always such a great judge of character. I thought my ex-wife was a good woman, and I thought despite our struggles we'd pull through; for Neo's sake if not ours. I was wrong. We started arguing more and more, getting more heated as time went on...and then Neo stopped talking. I didn't know why for weeks, until I caught my ex abusing her. She started taking her frustration out on Neo instead of me." Neo squeezed her father's hand, as if to say she didn't blame him, but no doubt he would still. "When we finally filed for a divorce, I wanted full custody of Neo. The judge didn't give it to me, and instead gave it to my ex. I couldn't accept that. I couldn't leave her with that whore, knowing she would keep abusing her. So I did the only thing I could; I packed all I needed, and I took Neo with me. Since then I used the only real skill I ever had, my mind, and made a life of crime to support the both of us. When she awakened her Semblance, I helped her train as best I could, to which she then began to help with growing the gang. I did it all to protect her, and not my ex-wife nor Cinder nor anyone, is going to take her away from me."

When Roman concluded his story, the cell fell in to an uncomfortable silence. Mercury and Emerald sat looking at the ground, unable to form a proper response to what they had just heard. However, they were simultaneously thinking the same thing: how badly they had misjudged Roman Torchwick. All this time they had merely assumed he was just an ambitious crime boss, who was convinced to team up with them at the prospect of financial gain. In reality, it was not what he had to gain, but that he could not afford to lose. Emerald began to feel a twist of guilt develop in her stomach for suspecting him of selling them out when she had been captured by Qrow, and was now beginning to rethink just how loyal she was to remain to Cinder. Mercury on the other hand was seeing Roman in an entirely different light. He too was going along with Cinder's plan because she had offered him something that he had been unable to acquire on his own. However, there was something deeply personal that had begun to resonate within him since the ginger began to reveal his past. Pieces that he had been putting together since he joined up with Cinder and Emerald, now began to make far more sense, and created a much clearer picture. Neo's flashes of fear and how familiar they seemed, had not been a mistake on his part. It was now a much different situation he found himself in. With all four of them in this cell, proving to be far more similar than previously thought, Cinder separated and taken by the Beacon Huntmaster, and the White Fang potentially being wiped out as they sat in silence, the future seemed far more uncertain.

"Why are you telling us all this?" the kick-boxer asked.

"Well, certainly not to gain your sympathy" Roman retorted, scratching the back of his head. "But if you must know, I'm not like Cinder. _I_ can actually come up with solid plans, especially on the fly, and I've got one right now. As it stands, _I'm_ in a lot more hot water right now than you two; and Neo for that matter since no one other than us in this cell knows what she's done, and that she's my daughter. When Jimmy, the illustrious General of the White Army, no doubt tries to interrogate me again, I'm going to negotiate a deal with him. I don't have to care about keeping your identities safe for the tournament anymore, so I have lots of information to trade. If I can avoid having Jimmy grill you kids, I will. If not, keep your damn mouths shut. You don't have a rap sheet like I do, so don't screw your chances to get out of here. In exchange for what I know, I will make sure they'll let you go with a slap on the wrist or something in that range."

Mercury and Emerald's jaws dropped at Roman's proposed plan, as it was insanely generous, and not something he would normally do. There had to be some kind of catch.

"Why are you doing this for us?" demanded the green-haired thief. "Why take the fall for us?"

"Because I'm such a nice guy" Roman replied, dripping in sarcasm. "I'm not doing this without expecting something in return. If I succeed in making a deal with Jimmy, then I want you two to do something for me. When they let you go, I want you to take Neo with you."

This took the pair by surprise, but what surprised them even more, was Neo's immediate reaction. She desperately clutched onto Roman's arm, completely panic-stricken, before she feverously began speaking to him in sign language.

"Neo wait–Neo, please listen to me–Neo!" Roman tried to calm the girl, but quickly knew he couldn't with words, making him catch her hands and clasping his around them. "Neo, you _can't_ stay here with me. I don't know when I'll get out, if ever. And you can't manage the gang on your own, so don't think about causing trouble or plan some kind of crazy rescue attempt. You'll be safe with these two."

Neo began to breathe quickly in short breaths, obviously panicking at the prospect of being separated from her father again. Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes, causing Roman to bring his left hand up to her right cheek.

"Neo" he began again, softening his tone and expression greatly. "I love you, and I'm not going to let your freedom be taken away again. I promised that I would protect you for as long as I could, even if it kills me, and I'm not gonna stop now. I won't let you waste away in here with me if there's a chance to get you out. Promise me you'll go with them if I can get you three freed." A tear fell from Neo's right eye which Roman wiped away with his thumb. "Promise me?"

The mute girl reluctantly nodded before burying her face into her father's chest, and cried quietly. Roman instinctively wrapped his arms around her, trying to calm, or at least make her feel safe.

The other two inmates had watched and listened in a silence that even a graveyard would have trouble competing against. It was such an alien situation that it bordered on the awkward for them, as their upbringing had forced them to dampen if not straight up quash any need for tact. Now, they were in very much need of it, and honestly felt they were at a complete and utter loss. What in Remnant could they do or say in this state of affairs? Mercury treated things with a dark sense of humour nearing cruelty at times, and Emerald was simply annoyed whenever people were happy. Instead, all they could do was sit there and watch uncomfortably; as if their jail cell needed any more help in feeling like a cage.

After a few moments, Roman finally turned to look at them, his softened expression returning to a dead serious one.

"So, do I have your word you'll look after her if I can get you out of here?" he asked. The look he gave them was a piercing one; a combination of demanding to get what he wanted, and desperation of wanting to protect Neo, born from the reality that this was his only way to insure her safety.

Emerald was somewhat paralyzed by the plan. Of course she wanted to be free, but given that she no longer knew what she would do without Cinder leading, she felt as if she would just be delaying the inevitable. Mercury on the other hand, was almost looking through Roman, taking in both him and his fear-stricken daughter. In his mind he could hear the echoes of his past; shattering glass, vulgar shouting, the stench of alcohol, and the never ending pain. Unbeknownst to Mercury, his right hand began to slowly rub his thigh, massaging away a phantom pain.

"I swear nothing will happen to her" he answered. "You have my word."

The two men locked eyes for a moment, as Roman was reading him to be made certain that the boy was telling the truth. When he was satisfied, he nodded, causing Neo to look first at her father, and then to Mercury.

"Thank you. Now, when you get out, try to see if my men will help you. If they can smuggle you out, all the better. If not, then you'll need cash and ammo. I have a secret stockpile in my office. Neo knows where it is and how to open it. Take as much money and whatever else you think you'll need, and get out of the capital; and out of the Kingdom if possible" Roman instructed.

"And where would we go?" asked Emerald helplessly. "What will we do when we get there?"

"Thanks to this little quagmire we've gotten ourselves in, you don't have many options. Since you technically worked for me, and Neo certainly has, you can't stay in Albion or even Vale. Since you worked for Cinder, you can't go to Mistral, and since we teamed up with the White Fang, you _really_ can't go to either Mistral or Atlas; and unless you're really good at costumes and make-up, you can't go to Menagerie. The only place left is Vacuo. All they care about over there is are you strong and can you pull your own weight when shit hits the sand? You're all tough enough that you'll do just fine there. Either hoof it on foot from town to town heading south, or catch a ship west to the capital, Paraíso. The rest is up to you."

The cell fell quiet again. It was certainly a plan, but it would only matter if Roman succeeded in convincing the Huntmaster-General they should be released from his custody.

"Do you even have enough valuable information to make such a trade?" Emerald asked.

The gangster smirked. "That's the nature of this way of life; trust no one. Just because Cinder threatened to kill Neo, didn't stop me from doing some, shall we say, _long range_ dirt gathering."

Emerald paused for a few moments more, before asking one final question.

"Will we see you again?"

Roman gave her a toothy grin. "Miss me already, kid?"

"Ya right!" she sneered, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment. "I-I don't like being indebted to people."

Roman relaxed his grin to a small softer smirk.

"You just worry about keeping Neo safe. That's good enough for me."

With that being settled, the brig fell completely into silence.

λΛλ

The match between Sun and Diego began with an explosion of energy. Sun drew Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang and joined them into staff form as he charged the Fox Faunus, planning to take full advantage of his greater reach. Diego seemed not to have any concern regarding this, and closed the distance between them, aiming a powerful thrust at the blond's chest. Sun blocked the attack, knocking the blade to the left, and tried to hit Diego in the head, which the swordsmen avoided with a careful sidestep, and riposted with a sharp flick, cutting off a lock of hair. This caused a blinding whirlwind of attacks from the Faunus, showing that Diego's Master's Mark was not for show, and that Sun was a match for him. He was forced to divide his staff back into nunchaku however, as his opponent displayed incredible speed with his rapier, and he needed to give himself the advantage. He had misjudged Diego's abilities, for the combination of his full extension of his arms and fast footwork, the advantage of wielding a polearm against a sword, had quickly evaporated. Thankfully he had the bonus of his weapon becoming two, which he was now planning to counter his opponent's speed with an attack that he couldn't block. However, Sun was aware than the senior student also had a parrying dagger, and was expecting him to draw it before long.

Now with his nunchaku, the flurry of strikes increased in intensity, becoming a dance of death even more spectacular than Pyrrha and René's. They whirled around the arena, not pausing as they did, as neither willing to succumb to the other's pressure. Sun had been right to utilize a duel-wield strategy, though while it did force Diego to exert more energy to keep pace, he didn't seem to be tiring any faster. In fact, his speed and precision had forced Sun to keep pace with _him_ , as the tip of his blade would periodically slip through the small gaps in Sun's defences. Thankfully, Sun's flexibility and balance allowed him to avoid the attacks he couldn't block or parry, all without breaking the flow of combat.

Needing to find a way to break through Diego's defences, Sun decided to give the Fox Faunus something he couldn't block with fancy swordplay. Making use of the momentum of the twirling of his nunchaku, he spun-cocked one of them and fired a blast which Diego barely managed to avoid. This had caught the Mistralese off guard, but it didn't shake his resolve, and made sure that his blocks and parries kept the barrels of Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang from facing him. Sun had expected for him to remain mostly unfazed, for Sun's true plan was to distract his opponent just enough to land a proper hit. Forcing Diego to avoid another shotgun blast, he wrapped the chain of one of his nunchaku around the blade of the rapier, and yanked open the Fox Faunus' guard. He was about to strike with his free nunchaku, when Diego suddenly twisted his sword, causing the top of the guard at the ricasso, to open like a flower, and revealed four short shotgun barrels. Sun realized them at the last possible second, and broke away from the swordsman, avoiding the shower of shot that emerged from all four hidden muzzles.

"Well, Pyrrha wasn't kidding that you're sneaky when you need to be" Sun remarked. "A gun hidden in the sword? A little dishonourable for a swordsman, wouldn't you say?"

"The pot calls the kettle black" laughed Diego, ejecting the spent shells and closing the guard. "You were the one who decided to use the shotguns within your staff, so I simply replied in kind. However, if you wish to keep firearms out of the match, I wouldn't mind obliging."

"Fair enough" the blond agreed, flourishing Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang. "Round two?"

"Let's" the rapierist nodded, performing a sword flourish of his own, and took a stance with his right foot forward, his rapier held in Fool's Guard, and his right hand holding his scabbard.

Sun paused for a moment, before jolting forward to resume the fight, when he noticed Diego at last reach and grasp his parrying dagger. He assumed that he was going to duel-wield, but was surprised to see him reel back, as if he was going to throw it at him. A rather odd decision, however Sun raised Ruyi Bang to deflect it, as a dagger was far easier to deal with than bullets. Unfortunately for the blond Vacuan, this was a trap set by his opponent, for Diego had no intention of throwing his weapon. When he snapped his arm forward, he didn't release his grip on the dagger, but something long and black flew at Sun and struck the nunchaku he had brought up to defend himself with. Sun looked down in shock, and saw that a long black vine with inch long black thorns had emerged from the blade of the parrying dagger, and wrapped itself around Ruyi Bang. With a fast but hard jerk, Diego wrenched the weapon from Sun's hand, and planted his rapier into the tile before him to catch his prize, and swiftly tucked it into his belt.

"Damn sneaky is right" Sun sneered, not happy in the slightest that his weapon had been taken. "Just how many more do you have up your sleeves?"

"Well..." grinned Diego, pulling his sword from the ground before cracking his thorn whip to send the message home, "you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?"

The Monkey Faunus wiped his nose before performing a full nunchaku kata with Jingu Bang. Passing between each hand before taking a stance with one monouchi (shaft) under his right armpit, and gripped the top of the second with his right hand. His left hand was held low with his left foot forward and his right foot back.

"Let's play" he taunted, beckoning his opponent with his left hand.

Diego grinned and dashed forward, and unleashed a fury of lightning sword strikes, which Sun parried with a storm of nunchaku swings. It was now Sun's turn to keep pace, though it wasn't an impossible endeavour, as his fighting style with the weapon gave him better defensive options than one would think. Nonetheless, he did have to push himself to keep the Mistralese from landing his attacks, leaving the blond few opportunities to riposte. The match was going to go very poorly for Sun if he didn't find a way to level the playing field by either taking Ruyi Bang back or disarming Diego. Unfortunately for the blond, his opponent wasn't going to allow him to retake the pace. The Fox Faunus took him by surprise by punching him in the face with his left hand, still gripping his parrying dagger which had reverted from its whip form, before spinning it into a reverse grip, and catching the chain of Jingu Bang with the forward curving quillons. He then spun and kicked Sun in the chest, sending him flying and crashing onto his back, before rolling with the momentum and resting in a crouching position, his left hand against the ground for support.

"Sun Wukong has been fully disarmed by Diego Iglesias!" announced Port, causing the Mistralese in the audience to cheer.

The students in the Beacon reserved section leaned forward in their seats, seeing how quickly the tide of battle had turned against their friend. Team SSSN stared in worry, knowing that against this particular opponent, their captain was not in shape to fight in hand to hand combat. Blake began to fret, for while Sun wasn't being thrown around like a dog toy as he had been in his previous match, going up against a master swordsman without his staff, gave her little comfort. Pyrrha was somewhere in the middle in regards to being concerned, for obvious reasons. Diego was far more precise than Ian was, so there was no fear in him severely hurting Sun as the Grizzly Faunus nearly had. Furthermore, she knew that the master swordsman would throw the match to keep in line with Huntmaster Ozpin's plans. The only question was would Sun do something drastic that could cause an accident; however unlikely that would occur. Pyrrha couldn't help but feel pity for the blond, as he had undergone two hard matches where the outcome was predetermined, and he was giving it his all, believing he was pulling through. How frustrated would he be once he learned the truth, as undoubtedly Sun would be told sooner or later. Pyrrha could only speak for herself, and it would be beyond humiliating. The question now, was what would Sun do now that he no longer had his polearm?

In the arena, Sun rose to his feet, cursing himself for letting go of Jingu Bang, and he glared at Diego in annoyance as he watched him tuck it into his belt beside Ruyi Bang.

'This match is going to be an even bigger pain in the ass than the last one' he thought. 'First things first, I need to get Ruyi Bang and Jingu bang back. He's not gonna let me get close, so I'll have to move fast.'

At the very moment he was having these thoughts, Diego reeled back once again, and cracked his thorn whip. The black vine flew towards Sun, who back flipped away, and did so twice more, as the Fox Faunus swiped a second and third time.

'Just how much reach does he have with that thing?' the blond thought in bewilderment. The thorn whip had extended three times longer than the length of a real bullwhip, a shocking sixty feet, and Diego had shown he was accurate with it as well. It reminded Sun of a festival performer who would snuff candles with a whip without breaking the candles or knocking over the candelabras. He certainly seemed to have more tricks in his bag than the average street performer, though what more he had, remained to be seen. 'Ok; time to move really fast.'

Sun sprinted towards Diego, zigzagging and flipping to avoid the whip strikes. They hit with such force that they broke the tiles that had just been beneath his feet, showing they would do far more than sting if they landed. The blond Faunus decided to gamble when he was close enough to attack, and with a bound, leapt over the whip, pushed off the ground with his hands, sending himself into a flying drop kick. Diego merely pivoted his body, allowing Sun to soar past him, before whipping him across the back for good measure. Sun cursed in pain, as he felt the whip sting his back, as it had struck beneath his jacket onto his bare skin. He spun round to face his opponent, and threw his head to the left just in time to avoid another strike. However, just as he was about to jump away, the whip came back the way it came, and this time run against his cheek. Sun hissed as he felt the thorns dig into his flesh, and he put as much distance as he could before inspecting the damage. He touched the wound, and thankfully it wasn't deep, but it had cut through his Aura armour, and he was bleeding.

"That's got to hurt more than any cat-o'-nine-tails" Neptune remarked, wincing at the realization of his captain's injuries.

"He'll be cut to ribbons if he's not careful" added Scarlet.

Blake watched the now bloodied Vacuan with nauseous anxiety, as the match had now gone from bad to worse. Pyrrha too was now beginning to worry, as that last attack was done on purpose, and was not an accident on either Faunus' part. How far were her mentors going to go to sell their matches?

Sun on the other hand was more annoyed that he wasn't able to get close enough to land a hit or take back his weapons than getting scratched. He spat in frustration, wondering if there was something else he could do, or have to simply try again until he succeeded; damage be damned. Diego wasn't chasing him down, so at the very least he could think for a moment. Yet again, his opponent was content with standing still, and he swung his whip once more, this time in a wider arc going right to left. Sun flinched for a second, but didn't move, as he knew that he couldn't be reached from that far away, as he was beyond the sixty foot limit.

'Is he just trying to scare...' he began to think, until he realized what was happening, and he threw himself flat against the arena. There were then the sounds of multiple foreign objects striking the shields that protected the crowd from shrapnel, and many were confused at what had just happened.

"What was that?" asked Nora, as she was unable to identify what Diego had thrown at Sun.

"Something came out of the whip" Ren remarked, though he wasn't sure what.

"Thorns" said Pyrrha slowly, causing the others to look at her.

"Thorns?" echoed Jaune.

"Diego's parrying dagger, Rey de Espinas Negras, King of Black Thorns, can not only turn into a whip, but can fire its thorns as projectiles" she explained. "That complements his sword, Reina de Rosas Rojas, Queen of Red Roses, which you all saw had a secret shotgun mechanism hidden in its guard; a secret flower ready to bloom."

The others grimaced slightly, realizing Sun's odds of victory had dropped even further, as even if he kept his distance, there was nowhere to hide. He needed to fight; plan or no.

"Well..." Ruby said finally, rather sheepishly. "The names are nice at least..."

If Sun had heard this comment, he would have glared at her, as he was not amused in the least to learn that his opponent had indeed more tricks up his sleeves.

"You've got to be fuckin' kidding me" he growled aloud, knowing now keeping his distance was pointless.

"I hope I haven't entirely discouraged you, amigo" Diego called, grinning away.

"No; just pissing me off."

The Fox Faunus laughed. "Forgive me, I'm merely doing my best to defeat you, a first-year, in the most definitive way possible. Having your weapon taken from you in battle is disastrous; so how are you going to deal with the situation you now find yourself in?"

That was a good question. Without his staff, and with very little armour, Sun had no way to defend himself against Diego's thorn whip, or his mighty sword; if he even got close enough to render that whip useless. All he had left at his disposal, was his Semblance. He could try to overwhelm Diego with his Aura clones for him to reclaim Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang, if not land a solid hit or two on him. However, the reality was that it would be a waste of Aura, as Sun had to presume that Diego was very aware of his abilities. He would expect him to use it, now that he had no weapon, and given the swordsman's speed and skill, he would destroy the clones before they could prove any use. It would be the smarter plan to use his Aura to armour himself, as Rey de Espinas Negras had proven it could dig into him if he didn't use more Aura.

Sun took a deep breath to steady himself, exhaling through his mouth. This was going to hurt. The blond raised his right foot and slammed it behind him, breaking the tile below, and he retook his previous stance, this time with his right hand raised to eyelevel with his palm facing away from his head, and his left hand more to his waist, palm pointed to the ground, slightly to the left. This surprised all except for the rest of Team SSSN, who knew that Sun was far from harmless without a weapon. Diego examined his younger opponent carefully, wondering what exactly he was planning to do. Was he really going to fight him barehanded when he could be using his clones? 

The Mistralese quickly got his answer as Sun ran towards him yet again, eyes locked onto his opponent. Diego cracked his whip, vertically this time, firing black thorns at the blond, who side stepped to the left, and avoided the projectiles. The whip was cracked again several more times, trying to land strikes instead of firing the thorns, and Diego was surprised to see Sun was parrying away his whip attacks. Sun was aiming for him, and he wasn't going to play any tricks of his own or employ any form of complex strategy; just barrel through. The Fox Faunus inwardly sighed, expecting more from the boy, and now wondered how he was going to throw the match believably.

'I'll give him a few more scratches, and when he rushes me again, I'll let him get past my defenses and hit me' he thought, now working on his new plan.

He reeled back once again, and cracked the whip directly at Sun, aiming for the base of his shoulder where it connected to his collar bone. To his surprise, Sun this time blocked the attack rather than deflect it, which gave Diego the chance to wrap the vine around the blond's forearm. He planned to pull Sun towards him, as he could give him a thump on the head before letting him regain the advantage. So he naturally tightened his grip on the hilt of the dagger, and pulled.

To his astonishment, it felt as if he were pulling on a mountain, as Sun could not be budged. Diego looked up at him and saw that Sun had dug in his heels, and held his left arm up, showing that the thorns had sunk into his skin. His vambraces only managed to protect half of his forearms, leaving the inside of his arm only covered in fabric, unable to offer enough of a defense. He was bleeding, but Sun didn't care, as this was exactly what he wanted. He grinned and gripped the whip with his other hand.

"My turn" he said, and with a great heave, pulled Diego towards him, lifting him clean off his feet.

This was what Sun had been waiting for, as not only was he able to close the distance between himself and Diego without having to get to him, but he was also close enough so that his opponent couldn't react fast enough to avoid his attack. That attack was Sun kicking Diego in the gut with all his might, sending him flying and barely able to recover in mid air, landing in a less than graceful crouch. This sudden upset got the Vacuans in the crowd to cheer, seeing that their final combatant was not out of the tournament just yet. Team SSSN cheered eagerly, excited to see their captain take control, as was Blake, who breathed a sigh of relief when she saw what else Sun had done.

Diego looked up at Sun as he assessed the damage. The wind had been slightly knocked out of him, the cuirass doing its job, and he thankfully would have nothing more than a light bruise when the match was over. He of course took the opportunity to make it look like it he had taken a much harder hit, slowly rising to his feet and holding his abdomen.

"Not bad, amigo" he said with false strain. "I thought you lost your head and were just going to bang it against the problem. Shame on me."

"Sometimes doing what's expected is unexpected, and you get better results for your effort" Sun replied with a proud grin. "Oh, and thanks for holding on to these" he added, lifting his tail to reveal he had swiped Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang from Diego's belt.

The swordsman's eyes widened in genuine shock, entirely unaware that he had been pick-pocketed. It appeared that Sun was not as disappointing as he first suspected. Sun reformed his nunchakus into a staff with a windmill flourish, and did a multiple single-handed reverse figure eight flourish, before resting the staff against his back, passing under his right arm. He held out his right left hand and taunted once more, beckoning Diego to recommence the match.

'Chico engreídos (Cocky kid)' Diego thought, though liking that about him. He performed several impressive sword flourishes of his own, before resting in a Heredia stance; an upright posture with his right foot forward and his leg held straight, his left foot pointed leftward at a 45° angle, his rapier pointed at Sun with a slight incline, and his left hand held up to the centre of his chest, fingers kept together and pointing.

There was a pregnant pause for a few moments, before the master swordsman dashed towards Sun, who sprang forward a hair later. Their weapons clashed in an even more intense fury of strikes, their aggressiveness increasing by the second. Now that they had both taken damage, the fight had truly begun, and they could feel each other's excitement build. Sun was now including kicks in his assault, passing his staff to his tail to hold as he flipped onto his hands to spin on his palms, giving his kicks even greater momentum. This new fighting style was beginning to bear fruit, as Sun's attacks landed onto Diego's unprotected arms and legs. Too close to use Rey de Espinas Negras, Diego reverted it back to a parrying dagger, despite Sun not separating his staff to duel-wield. He decided to use his dagger to distract his opponent, as much as he would attack with it.

Diego then thrust with Reina de Rosas Rojas, which Sun avoided by leaning backward to the point that it looked like he was about to fall onto is back. To Diego's surprise, the blond did not fall, and seemed to be supporting himself with his feet flat on the ground. From the angle the Fox Faunus was gazing from, he couldn't see that Sun had used his tail to keep him from falling, and was now pushing him back up, allowing Sun to swing his staff in an upper-cut motion, striking his opponent beneath the chin. Diego's head snapped backward, his hat nearly falling off his head as he stumbled, taking real damage from the attack. Sun wasted no time in taking full advantage of the successful strike, and drove his staff into the ground. He then spun around the staff as a trapeze artist would, using the momentum from the spinning to send himself flying at his opponent, kicking him with both feet, and sending him hurtling through the air. Sun then let himself fall forward to land on his hands beneath Diego, before pushing off the ground to kick the Fox Faunus into the air with another double-footed kick.

Sun wasn't done however, for at that moment he activated Yīqiān Gè Lièrì, and unleashed three golden clones after the swordsman; one jumping off his back into the sky, and the other two dashing beneath the black clad Mistralese. The first clone dropped from the sky, kicking him in the gut once again, and sending him flying back to earth. Below stood the second clone, who unleashed a powerful high kick that went directly above his head, and collided with Diego's back, sending him back into the air. This allowed the last clone to jump above him, grab him by the shirt, and while doing a front flip, used the momentum to toss Diego out of the arena, ensuring a win by ring-out. Indeed, the swordsman flew out of the arena and crashed against the wall, before falling to the ground in a heap. His hat had fallen off during the throw, and was now tumbling to the ground, which one of Sun's clones caught. Before the clone disappeared, it tossed the sombrero like a Frisbee to Diego, landing by his side.

"Diego Iglesias has been thrown out of the ring and appears to be unconscious!" announced Oobleck. "The winner is Sun Wukong of Haven!" 

The crowd exploded in cheers of victory and cries of defeat, with the Vacuans rising above it all with great enthusiasm. Sun threw his fists to the sky in triumph, with the crowd joining him, making sure to give them the same attention they had given him. The rest of his team, along with their Beaconite friends, also joined in the celebration, with Blake looking especially relieved. As the crowd clapped and hollered, Sun looked over at the supposedly unconscious Fox Faunus as he pulled Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang out of the tiles. He noticed the medics were making their way towards his downed opponent, and was about to return to the others, but felt compelled to speak.

"You were more annoying to fight than your teammate, I'll be honest" he said, attaching his weapon to his belt at the base of his back. "But, no hard feelings. Adios."

With that, he gave the older Faunus a salute, despite knowing that he could neither hear nor see him, before turning and heading towards the Vacuo arena entrance. When he returned to the reserved seating, making sure to wash off the blood in the locker-room before doing so, he eagerly took his seat and high-fived his teammates.

"One step closer to beating Nikos and winning this thing!" he said, pointing at the redhead.

"Not if I get to her first" interjected Yang. "And wow, so much for that Master's Mark."

"Master's what?" asked Sun.

"Weiss was drooling over Diego's broach because it meant that he was a master swordsman or whatever. A whole lotta good it did him since you essentially beat him nearly barehanded."

"Sun isn't a swordsman, so Master Iglesias had no reason to fight him as such!" defended the heiress, folding her arms crossly. "Furthermore, a master certainly knows better than to fight with full strength against a young amateur!"

"Whatever you say, Ice Queen" the blonds remarked in unison, causing them to look at one another and grin, fist-bumping approvingly. Weiss' cheeks tinted pink as she pouted in embarrassment, receiving a comforting hand on the shoulder from Neptune.

Pyrrha smiled apologetically at her as well, knowing the truth of the matter, and knew that Diego's pride had taken a far worse beating for throwing the match. The man had trained with swords ever since he could walk, or so he claimed, and nothing meant more to him than becoming a master, as it would set him on the final leg of his true goal which was to be the best in the world. If Sun had been an enemy, Diego could have killed him in the blink of an eye.

Sun seated himself once again beside Blake, who was looking at the cut on his cheek, as well as the blood stains on his clothes.

"Are you OK?" she asked. "You got cut up pretty badly."

"Nothing more than a few scratches" he replied with a grin. "They'll heal pretty quickly, and the blood will come out in the wash tonight. Worried about me?"

"Kind of hard not to, given your previous matches" Blake replied, her cheeks turning pink. "First you get thrown around by a giant, then you fight a master swordsman. Why do you always seem to find trouble?"

"I like to think that trouble finds me. Either way, I always find a way to work things out; and make the most of it. Were you _that_ worried about me?"

"O-Of course I was. Someone has to since your team's been weirdly calm."

Sun's grin widened, deepening her blush.

"The boys know how I fight, so don't think they don't care are about me. Thanks, beautiful."

Blake felt the genuineness of his gratitude in his words as well as his smile, though it was the playful gentleness in his eyes that caused her heart to skip a beat. Once again his softer side came through his cockiness to take her by surprise, and it was becoming harder to hide how much she liked it.

"Right then" Yang began, clapping her hands together. "Who's next up do you think?"

"With how this tournament has been structured, I haven't a clue" admitted Weiss.

"Your uncle might know right? Why don't you text him?" offered Nora.

"Cuz even if I knew, I wouldn't tell ya" Qrow answered from behind, leaning up against the wall as he did the last time he paid them a visit.

"And he ignores his Scroll" Ruby scolded, squinting at him. "Where were you this morning?"

Qrow chuckled at his niece's rather adorable attempt at acting like an adult.

"Taking care of some pests" he said, causing all but Pyrrha to look at him in confusion. "Ratting, if you must know."

"With dogs and horses?" asked Jaune, though not truly being serious with his question.

"Something like that, yeah."

This only caused more confusion amongst the Huntsmen-in-training, which brought the former teacher much amusement.

"Anyways, if you want to know who's fighting next, ya might want to look at the holoscreen."

They all turned their heads back to the arena, just as the digital roulette wheel began to spin, and after a couple of moments, began to slow onto two combatants.

"And the next match will be between Pyrrha Nikos of Team JNPR and Yang Xiao Long of Team RWBY of Beacon!" announced Professor Port.

"Finally!" shouted the aforementioned blonde, jumping to her feet with glee, and began to point at Pyrrha. "I told you I'd see you in Top Eight! Get in the ring so I can kick your ass!" Without even giving the Champion of Mistral time to respond, she marched past her teammates, high-fiving them as she passed, and was about to disappear into the exit, when she was suddenly jerked backward by Qrow who grabbed her by the back of her jacket. "The Hell?!"

"Hold your horses, firecracker" he told her. "Your cool and wise uncle is about to give you some sage advice."

"Oh yeah? Such as?"

Qrow placed his left hand on her shoulder and leaned forward so he was looking her in the eye.

"I put money on you winning this thing, so don't eat it, OK?"

Yang stood glacially still as she looked back at him unblinkingly.

"That's it?" she asked.

"Yup. That's it."

"...So I'm gonna lose because you've secretly infected me with your bad luck?"

"Don't blame me for your lack of skill, brat. I'm just worried about my money. Win or else."

"Or else what?"

"I'll key your bike."

Yang's eyes went wide, and she angrily pressed her forehead against Qrow's.

"You touch Inferno, and I will kick your ass off the continent" she threatened.

"If ya can't beat Nikos, then what chance do ya have against me?" he rightly pointed out, grinning at her bullheaded nature.

"Watch me!"

"Ready when you are."

"Um...I'm sorry but..." came Pyrrha's voice, revealing that she was standing before the bickering Branwens, causing them to look at her, "we do have a fight to attend. We shouldn't delay the tournament any further."

Qrow straightened and adjusted his shirt.

"Exactly. Save your fire for the match. Get going" he instructed, jerking his head towards the stairway. His niece "humphed" through her nose before turning and walked to the stairs, descending to the all too familiar route to the arena.

Qrow's eyes then rested onto Pyrrha, and they looked at one another in a silence that felt deafening. The young woman desperately wanted to ask him what has going on, and now seemed like it would be her only chance until the completion of the tournament. And yet, the words lodged themselves in her throat. Perhaps focusing on the tournament was the better option than to pester him with questions once again, given their previous interaction. She bowed politely, and was about to walk past him, when she felt his hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks, kid" he said genuinely.

Pyrrha blinked in confusion, and looked up at him to see he had a softer expression on his face.

"I'm...sorry?" she asked.

"Amber's assailant and her lackeys have been captured, and their plot's been stopped. Ironwood's army is mopping up what resistance remains, if they haven't finished already. The threat is over, and we're in your debt. Have fun out there."

The redhead looked back at him in shock, rendered completely speechless as she felt all the weight that had been placed on her heart, soar away. Recovering quickly she bowed deeply, before hastily making her way to the stairway, and disappeared below. Qrow watched her leave, and couldn't suppress a smirk.

"Miss Nikos needs your presence far more than Miss Schnee" he said to himself. "You always know best, don't you, Oz?"

Beneath the Coliseum, Pyrrha made her way briskly to the locker area, and when she entered it, was surprised to find Yang was still there; leaning against the wall with her arms folded.

"There you are" she said, pushing off the wall, and allowing her hands to drop to her hips.

"You waited for me? You didn't need to" Pyrrha remarked.

"We're friends and classmates. We should go out there together" the blond replied. "You know, sportsmanlike and stuff. You ready?"

Pyrrha looked at the blonde for a moment, before smiling eagerly.

"Absolutely" she replied, and walked in step with her opponent into the sun.

As they walked, their friends watched them with anxious anticipation. For the first time that tournament, their friends were facing one another, which left them feeling the same uneasiness they had felt when it seemed that Neptune might have to fight Weiss in the Doubles Round. Of course there had been the match between Pyrrha and Penny, but that had only been nerve-racking for Ruby, as she was closest to Penny. This time, it was her sister going up against her friend, one who had been nothing but sweet and kind to her since they first met. That unease was shared near equally with the others, though much less with Teams SSSN and CFVY, as while they wanted their respective teammate to win, it would come at the cost of a friend being eliminated from the tournament. Yang and Pyrrha knew this of course, and had made peace with it, for they knew that their friendship wouldn't be ruined by a mere tournament loss. Neither were so petty, and it would be a learning experience for both of them, if nothing else.

Nonetheless, Jaune felt some guilt in his heart, for he knew that the outcome of the match was determined before it even began. His assessment of Yang's abilities had proven true thus far, and he knew Pyrrha's well enough that she had the victory in the bag. He just hoped that Yang wouldn't be too hurt by the result; physically or emotionally. He glanced over to Team RWBY, and saw their nervousness, especially Ruby's, which added to his guilt. Unable to stop himself, he reached over and placed a hand on the younger Xiao Long sister's shoulder, pulling her out of her trance. She looked at him confused, and the blond did his best to give her a comforting and reassuring smile.

"It's just a friendly tournament" he said gently, trying to bring out his big brother aura that he usually used with his younger sisters. "They know it, and you don't see them complaining. However it turns out, we'll all laugh about it later. We'll be cheering for Pyrrha, so make sure you cheer just as loudly for Yang, OK?"

Ruby looked at him for a moment, before a slightly playful smile grew on her face.

"We'll cheer _even louder_ " she replied, causing Jaune to chuckle, getting the exact reaction out of her that he wanted.

"Good luck. Nora can out yell anyone."

Nora grinned at this, and inhaled deeply as Ren placed his fingers in his ears.

"Kick her ass, Pyrrha!!!" she bellowed, causing not only the others to jump, but several of the rows behind them. Of course Yang and Pyrrha heard the ginger, and looked over to her from their starting positions, smirking at her enthusiasm.

"She's loud as ever" the blonde remarked, folding her arms.

"Yes she is" giggled Pyrrha. "I wouldn't change a thing about her."

"Me too. I guess we'll know when she and Ren finally hook up because of it."

Pyrrha's cheeks turned red from the implication, though she couldn't stop a small laugh from escaping her lips.

"W-Well...I suppose that is true, though I'd rather not stumble across them in process of c-consummating their love, nor overhear it. I love them, and I want them to love each other openly, but not _that_ openly."

Yang smirked. "And I love how you dance around the topic of sex."

Pyrrha's face reddened further, causing Yang to laugh as Professor Port's voice came over the Coliseum speakers.

"Fighters ready?" he said, inciting Pyrrha to draw Akoúo and Miló, and Yang to activate Ember Celica as she took an orthodox boxing stance. "Three...two...one...BEGIN!"

Yang bolted towards Pyrrha, reeling back as she jumped at her, and threw a heavy punch. The redhead blocked the attack with her shield, and maintained her defenses as Yang fired two shots, one from each gauntlet, keeping Pyrrha at bay for Yang to return to the ground and attack again. She sent a spinning back kick with her right leg, which Pyrrha blocked and was pushed back slightly, allowing the blonde to attack again, sending punch after punch. Pyrrha blocked them all of course, and when she saw a slight pause in Yang's assault, she took advantage of it by knocking her opponent with a shield bash, and attacked with a sharp trust. Yang managed to block the strike with her left gauntlet, before ducking just in time under a reverse spinning back kick. She then countered with a high kick of her own, which Pyrrha avoided by performing a back flip, landing on her feet, and seeing that the blond was not on sturdy footing, dashing forward and struck her in the gut with the edge of Akoúo. Yang winced as she felt the wind be nearly knocked out of her, but was glad nonetheless that Pyrrha wasn't holding back, and punishing accordingly. She looked up at her opponent, and saw her perform a sword flourish, transforming Miló from xiphos form to javelin form, and held it in her usual High Guard, ready for the next bout. Yang retook her stance, and stared down the redhead eagerly, ready to pay her back in full.

After a momentary pause, they resumed, launching into a flurry of attacks, as well as blocks and dodges. However, unlike the previous match with Pyrrha against her mentors, this wasn't an even match. Pyrrha kept slipping through Yang's guard, which she didn't keep up as much as she should, landing knee strikes and javelin hits with regularity. What the more observant of their friends noticed, was that Pyrrha's edge alignment was terrible, striking with the flat of the javelin head when she wasn't hitting with the end of the shaft. This of course was very perplexing, as someone as skilled as Pyrrha, would have perfected her edge alignment long ago, especially given that her form wasn't the cause of the incorrect strikes. The only explanation was that Pyrrha was _purposefully_ hitting with the blunt edges of her weapon to avoid cutting or piercing Yang. It very well could be that the champion was being merciful out of friendship, though not so merciful to not hit her at every opportunity.

Yang was beginning to feel the pressure, as she had yet to land a single hit on Pyrrha. Any attack that wasn't blocked by her shield, was cleanly avoided with concise dodging, never wasting energy nor moving in excess than what was required. Pyrrha was a true professional athlete, and she wasn't giving Yang a reprieve despite being classmates and friends. She did appreciate that, but it was getting under her skin that she hadn't landed one hit yet. Trying to open her up, Yang unleashed a barrage of shots from Ember Celica, before aiming a roundhouse kick at her head. Pyrrha ducked under the kick and spun close to the ground counter-clockwise, and connected the flat of Miló's head with the inside of Akoúo with her Semblance. She gripped the base of her javelin with both hands, and with a heavy baseball swing, struck Yang with the face of her shield, sending her flying a dozen yards or so. The blonde crashed onto her back before rolling onto her front, and the crowd winced, uncertain if she was conscious or not. It only took a few moments for Yang to stir, pushing herself onto her knees, and looked up at Pyrrha, who had separated her arms, and retook her fighting stance. She gritted her teeth in frustration, as Pyrrha appeared completely unfazed and not winded in the slightest. Her temper began to burn, and seeing no reason to hold back any longer, rose to her feet, raising her arms into the air, crossing them, before snapping them back, and activated her Semblance, Solar Throttle. Her eyes burned red as her hair turned into a roaring fire, similar to that of a solar flare.

"Here we go" said Qrow, scratching his chin.

"At least she didn't pop it at the start" remarked Ruby with a sigh.

"She got thrashed throughout that entire exchange" added Blake, seeing just how well Pyrrha had dominated from the beginning of the match.

"She _is_ doing better temperament wise" Weiss pointed out, as their previous match together had devolved into a storm of expletives.

"Give it time" Qrow muttered, getting a small laugh from his niece.

Firing Ember Celica behind her, Yang hurled towards Pyrrha, front flipping at the last moment to bring her right heel down into an axe kick. Pyrrha blocked it of course, but instantly felt the power of the attack, and her knees bent with the tiles beneath her feet cracking from the pressure. The champion could tell Yang's physical strength had increased greatly, and going forward, her strength would increase with every hit she received. There had to be a limit to this of course, though she had no idea what that limit was. Some cautious experimentation was required as she looked up at her opponent's burning eyes. There was rage within them, there was no question of that, though strangely, there wasn't a hint of malice. Pyrrha hoped it would remain that way after winning the match.

They continued to fight with Pyrrha landing a number of hits, though fewer than she had been able to beforehand. As she expected however, Yang was making wilder swings at her, abandoning her usual form, wanting to do nothing else but hit her opponent. The arena was being chewed up by her punches, kicks, and shots, but not a single hit had landed on her true target. The blonde's frustration grew, as she at the very least wanted to know how strong Pyrrha truly was by eating a fully powered punch. Of course, the Mistralese champion wouldn't give her opponent such an opportunity, nor did she want to be condescending and give one free hit.

As Pyrrha blocked another punch, she noticed that Yang's left foot had crossed to the right. Immediately the redhead knew that she was going to perform another spinning back kick, for instead of concealing it by pointing her heel backwards, she had mistakenly telegraphed it by moving her foot to the right to amplify the spin. Without hesitation, Pyrrha kicked Yang's thigh just above the back of her knee, causing her leg to give out and body to jerk back. This gave her another opening, and Pyrrha fired off a spinning back kick of her own, using the momentum of her first, and kicked Yang in the back. The blond was knocked off her feet, but managed not to fall to the ground when she landed two yards away, and she turned around to fight back. Before she could react, Pyrrha closed the distance between them and performed a flying headscissors takedown, jumping at her opponent and wrapping her legs around her head, spinning once before throwing Yang in a forward somersault. The blonde crashed onto the arena in an acute arc, breaking the tiles beneath her, as Pyrrha landed gracefully on her feet.

The crowd sounded off once again, as Yang looked up at Pyrrha with angry consternation. Her Semblance was able to absorb the hits she was taking, and her power was increasing with every one, but it meant squat if she couldn't land a hit on Pyrrha. The gulf between them couldn't actually be this wide, could it? As she stared at the redhead in frustration, Pyrrha eyed her back, pondering on what to do next. It was clear she had complete control of the match, and she felt guilty by how exasperated she was making her friend. Nonetheless, Pyrrha had every intention of winning this match, and wouldn't take on any undue risk or damage to make Yang feel it was a closer battle than it was. She decided that she wouldn't try to push Yang's Semblance to its breaking point by attacking her physically, but rather by circumventing the issue entirely. To the shock of all watching, Pyrrha sheathed Miló and attached Akoúo to her back.

"What is she doing?" asked Ren, looking to his captain.

"I...don't know" Jaune answered, honestly as bewildered as the others. That shock increased when he saw her raise both her fists so that the tips of her fingers were level with her eyebrows, hands partially open and relaxed with her left arm nearly fully extended and her right arm more chambered.

"She's gonna fight her hand to hand?" asked Nora. "Can she even do that?"

"She does know _some_ martial arts, I think" the blond swordsman replied, though obviously sounding unsure on the matter. This was beyond confusing for him, as it was for his friends, though what caught the attention of some of them, Neptune in particular, was that the stance Pyrrha had taken, was the very same the blue-haired lieutenant had taken during his match against Allen.

"Don't do it" growled Qrow in a low voice, which those closest to him heard, and caused them to eye him curiously, for he had put money on his niece winning. Why would he be advising her opponent to not make an obvious mistake?

In the arena, Yang stared at Pyrrha in utter shock. Gritting her teeth, she punched the ground as she stood, breaking the ground beneath her.

"That's it..." she snarled, and like a bat out of Hell, barreled down onto her opponent.

Despite the apparent danger she was in, Pyrrha remained unmoved, and let Yang approach her, watching her reel back to throw a haymaker. With a roar, the blonde punched with all her might at the redhead's face. That was what Pyrrha was waiting for. At the last possible second, Pyrrha's left hand flew to Yang's extended right fist, and grabbed her wrist, spinning around as she grabbed the blonde's shoulder with her right. With all her might, Pyrrha pulled her opponent's arm into a forward shoulder throw, sending her into the air. As she turned away, Pyrrha activated her Semblance, controlling Ember Celica to give Yang's trajectory more of an arc so that she cleared the edge of the arena, falling out of bounds.

"Yang Xiao Long has been thrown out of the arena by a magnificent shoulder throw!" announced Port. "The winner by ring-out is Pyrrha Nikos!"

The crowd erupted into cheers, though it was clear that with two students from the same school had faced one another, it left the Valians a little conflicted. Nonetheless, the crowd thoroughly enjoyed the match, with the Mistralese happy to see their champion doing well, even if she now fought for a different Kingdom. In the stands, Team JNPR cheered in relief and joy, as Team RWBY collapsed in their seats. It was clear to them, perhaps from the beginning, that Pyrrha would win the match, and it was hoping against hope that Yang had a chance. Nevertheless, Team RWBY were disappointed that their teammate had lost, though grateful that her pride was most likely more injured than her body.

"I warned you..." muttered Qrow, which Jaune heard, and now realized the older Huntsman's words of caution were meant for Yang and not Pyrrha. He would know her tendencies better than anyone, which gave Jaune some validation, as he had made similar predictions at the beginning of the tournament.

In the arena, Yang rolled over onto her side, and she looked first up at the holoscreen displaying Pyrrha's victory, before her eyes rested on Pyrrha herself, who was now walking towards her with an apologetic smile. The blonde's eyes fell to the grass as she cursed herself. She began to feel a need to bargain, to justify that her loss wasn't legitimate, that if this had been a real fight she would have won. However, that desire quickly died, for she knew that if this had truly been a serious fight, Pyrrha would have won regardless. Her pride was wounded, not because she had been handled with kid's gloves, but rather that Pyrrha used the _exact_ amount of force needed to win. In short, she wasn't worthy enough as an opponent for her to fight with her full strength. Yang was then brought out of her thoughts as the tips of the redhead's boots came into view, and she looked up at her.

"I'm sorry" Pyrrha said, softly and honestly. "Are you hurt?"

"My pride more than anything" Yang muttered, looking down once again.

"I'm–"

"Stop apologizing!" the blonde snapped. "You beat me because you're better. That's the end of it!"

Pyrrha recoiled slightly, not expecting her to react this way. She was hot headed, yes, and she wasn't the most gracious of losers generally speaking, but for her to lash out in such a manner was out of the ordinary. The tone in her voice was almost that of desperation, not bitterness or anger towards Pyrrha herself. Was there something else going on that she hadn't shared previously?

Yang tightened her fists, her frustration building.

"I needed to win this tournament. I have to prove to him that he didn't make a mistake by letting me and Ruby come here. I need to prove that I'm strong enough..."

The redhead looked at the blonde with softening eyes, believing that she knew who she meant by "him", and now understood her frustrations. Kneeing down, Pyrrha held out her hand to Yang, wishing to help while not wanting to pry.

"You did well, Yang. And you are strong. The entire point of the Huntsmen's academies it to train and grow, as we all have so much growing to do until we graduate. This is one of many times we will stumble, and we'll do it together, so that we can grow with each other. Better here than in the field, right?"

Yang remained quiet for a moment before replying.

"Yeah..." she said with a sigh, looking up at the extended hand, and took it, letting her friend pull her to her feet. It was clear that while Pyrrha's words did reach her, they hadn't eased her discouragement, which did leave the Mistralese champion feeling remorseful, as she did want to help her friends.

"I'm not mad at you" the blonde said suddenly. "If I'm mad at anyone, I'm mad at myself. I trained for this tournament, but it clearly wasn't enough. I know you were a pro athlete before you came here, and I shouldn't feel so pissed for going up against someone like you, but I hate losing. And for other reasons."

Pyrrha smiled and placed a hand on Yang's shoulder.

"No one likes losing, but we cannot get better if we do not fail first."

"Yeah I know."

The redhead paused before making her friend an offer.

"How about this, Yang? Starting with the new school year, you'll train with me and Nora, so that we can all get stronger."

Yang looked at her, pondering on the offer, before a smirk grew across her face.

"And take more time away from your boyfriend? You sure you want to do that?" she asked teasingly.

Pyrrha's cheeks began to turn pink, but she managed to give her a proper reply.

"I've managed a hectic schedule before. We can plan accordingly."

The blonde snorted and punched Pyrrha on the arm.

"We'll see. Thanks, Nikos."

"Any time."

As the arena shifted to replace the damaged tiles with new ones, Yang and Pyrrha walked towards the exit they had come from. The pair returned to their friends in the stands, and could instantly feel that there was a mix of emotions in the air. They had expected this to be the case, as despite Pyrrha and Penny having fought that very day, friends having to fight one another was a tense situation indeed. Teams RWBY and JNPR had become rather close over the course of their first school year, so fighting in a tournament where you were expected to fight as hard as you could, just short of a fight to the death, left them all in a tough spot. They didn't want to hurt each other, but they didn't want to hold back either, as they loved the fight. Pyrrha was, as expected, far more experienced with this sort of deal, as it was deeply part of her nature to not want to hurt good people. That of course explained why she defeated Yang via ring-out, rather than by hard knock out. Unfortunately, while it did result in few bruises for Yang, it instead bruised the blonde's pride.

Yang looked at her teammates, and felt shame wash over her as she saw how hesitant they were. They clearly wanted to say something to her: "Well done", "You tried your best", "You still placed so that's something to be proud of", and probably a dozen other words of comfort. None would be good enough to ease Yang's damaged pride, and her gaze dropped to the floor.

"Sorry..." she said at last, feeling rather ashamed of herself.

Weiss and Blake frowned, as they didn't like seeing the usually energetic blonde looking so dejected, and were about to try to comfort her to the best of their abilities, when Ruby beat them to the punch. She slowly rose to her feet, took two steps to close the distance between them, and promptly hugged her sister tightly.

"You did great out there" she said softly before the taller Xiao Long could utter a word. "I'm proud of you, sis."

Yang felt her heart lodge itself in her throat, robbing her of her ability to speak, so she instead wrapped her arms around her little sister, and hugged her back. She had far fewer memories of her step-mother than she wished she had, but of those that she did possess, they were of her kindness, her tenderness, and her soothing presence. While Ruby was quite immature and a hyper ball of energy, she nevertheless had begun to develop some of the same qualities of her mother. Those qualities emerged in times such as these, and when she finally shifted into lower gear, Ruby became tender and soothing, nearing motherliness. Interestingly enough, Pyrrha was very much the same, and there was something special about those who had such qualities.

"Thanks, kid" she said quietly, before ruining their tender sisterly moment by putting the little girl in a headlock, and giving her a noogie.

The remaining members of Team RWBY shook their heads, knowing they should have expected things to quickly turn, as did Qrow, who chuckled at his nieces' antics. This caused Yang to stop teasing her sister and look at her uncle, who was sitting almost perched on the edge of the wall that separated the stands from the arena, smirking in amusement.

"Sorry about losing, Uncle Qrow" she muttered.

The normally sombre Huntsman laughed through his nose as he got to his feet, and placed a hand on the blonde's head, rubbing it affectionately.

"Don't sweat it, kiddo. You did great out there" he said comfortingly.

Yang swallowed, not expecting him to be so understanding, as she honestly thought he would chew her out for losing.

"What about your bet?"

Qrow merely shrugged. "What's money to family?"

The Xiao Long sisters felt touched by their uncle's words, knowing just how much he meant them. This didn't go unnoticed by the others. Pyrrha had a small smile on her face, as not only did she very much agree with the sentiment, but it was a further display of how good of a man Qrow truly was beneath his usual gruff and brooding aura. Along the same vein, Weiss was taken aback by the man's compassion, as he had appeared to her as nothing more than a belligerent drunk. Now, she was beginning to see what the redhead had been speaking of in regards to him being a good man deep down. It was such a contrast to her father; so prim and proper, and yet so unsympathetic, while Qrow, the complete opposite on the outside, but kind and caring towards his family on the inside.

Suddenly, Professor Port's voice came over the stadium loudspeakers, cutting the tender moment short.

"Well it's been an explosive final day of matches, hasn't it, Bart?" he boomed.

"Indeed it has, Peter. And I have no doubt that the semi-final and grand final matches will be just as entertaining, if not more so!" Oobleck added. "However, there are some last minute additions that we would like to give all you spectators."

"Correct. Since this is very much the final day of the tournament, the remaining competitors will fight till there is only one left standing to be crowned the victor. To compensate with this endurance race, there will be thirty minute breaks between matches to give the students a breather and time to refresh themselves."

"A refreshing notion no doubt, so don't go anywhere or think that the tournament has ended! Until three students have taken their places on the podium, the tournament goes on! We will reconvene in exactly twenty-four minutes and seventeen seconds."

"You kids have it easy these days" Qrow remarked, placing his hands in his pockets.

"You're leaving?" asked Ruby.

"Just to see how Oz and Jimmy are doing. I'll be hanging around the capital for a little while longer after the tournament wraps up, so don't worry your little head about it" he replied. "Best of luck to you two." His final remark was to Pyrrha and Sun, giving them a slight hand wave, before walking away, and leaving the students to themselves.

"Ya know..." audibly mused Coco, "your uncle is kinda hot."

"Eww!" groaned Yang and Ruby, horrified by their upperclassman's comment.

"What? He's good looking."

"Just... _no_ " Yang moaned, looking as if she was going to be sick.

"And he's got a nice as–"

"STOP!" the sisters cried, appearing as if they were either going to forcibly silence the captain, or run for the hills. Coco waved her hand at them dismissively, but decided to stop making comments of that nature.

"So what do we do now?" asked Nora.

"Sit and wait, I suppose" Ren remarked, though sensing what was coming.

"I'm hungry. Let's get food! Who's with me?"

"I could eat" Jaune admitted, before turning to Pyrrha. "Do you want anything?"

"I tend not to eat before a match, but I'll gladly accompany you" she replied with a warm smile.

"I could've gone for something but I've completely lost my appetite" Yang muttered with Ruby nodding.

"Eh, walk it off and you'll be fine" Sun encouraged. "Let's get going."

With that, the students got to their feet, and made their way to the Coliseum concession stands; still blissfully unaware of what was going on behind the scenes. Pyrrha was now in a much better mood, freed from the dread that had pained her the past two days. At least for now, she could return to enjoying the tournament as she originally wanted to, as well as looking forward to her date with Jaune. She could not wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there are a FEW things to cover:
> 
> Firstly, I originally planned to show the entire Pyrrha-Penny fight, resulting in a major revelation. In the end, I decided that it would take too much away from the story, along with not being as well set up as I would have liked. The subject matter is rather delicate, and where it will go instead, in this context, works much better. Sometimes ideas that you love have to be tempered in order to work, even if you badly want to share them.
> 
> Now then, let's talk about everybody's favourite character: Roman. It goes without saying that we hate what CRWBY did to him. I've even run into former fans who actually thought he would come back, as his death was too cartoony. Obviously, I decided for him to live. When I started getting feedback from my editors, they asked if it was canon that Roman was Neo's father. They had both tapped around when I did, so they had no clue. I told them we have no idea, but when I saw a piece of fanart years ago alluding to that, I was intrigued. Roman's last line "You don't get it, do ya, Red? It's not what I have to gain, it's that I can't afford to lose", sparked a ton of possibilities for me. That, in conjunction with the father-daughter theory, made me go "Oh, I can do something with this". And the rest, is history. It's a shame that I can't go into how far Roman will go story-wise, but I do hint to it several times later on. Stay tuned :3
> 
> Something else people were curious about was Yang. Given that I made it that everyone believes that Raven is dead, how does that change Yang as a character? I obviously went back to how she was in V1 and 2, but I didn't make her into a one-dimensional character. I still wanted her to be fun, unlike what she became, but like everything, there's more to it. In this case, I changed the tismy abandonment issues that came out of nowhere, with something more tangible and believable. This will be explored several times and from different points of view from here on out, so I hope it will be as good as I think it to be. Essentially, this was Yang's "wake up call". though it is one several that will occur in this story.
> 
> Furthermore, I changed Yang's Semblance from "Burn" to "Solar Throttle". Just as I changed the names of weapons and Semblances previously, I did the same for Yang, and for the same reasons. "Burn" is a rather lazy name that fails to explain what the Semblance is, nor does it reflect the user. It's the same reason why I changed "Bumblebee" to "Inferno"; to remain consistent. There is more to Yang's Semblance than even she realizes, but we will touch on that at a later date.
> 
> And lastly, I made sure to show off more of Sun, as well as what he is actually capable of. More of that to come.
> 
> Anywho, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. There are still a few things I want to go over, Diego's weapons for one, but that would be spoilerish. However, I will get to it at some point, as it is too important to leave on the cutting room floor.
> 
> Cheers, Gods bless, and see you next time.


	13. Until Your Last Dying Breath

In the private skybox overlooking the arena, Huntmasters Ozpin and Ironwood were standing at the bar surrounded by Team RROI and LION. Qrow had expectedly positioned himself behind the bar, helping himself to the vast array of liquors, but also making himself useful and mixing drinks for the others.

"I cannot thank you boys enough for your help these past two days" Ozpin said graciously, looking far better than he had all week. "While the Kingdom of Vale cannot officially thank you for your service, please accept our thanks on behalf of all Valian citizens."

"Grand Veneur, it has been truly a great honour to aid you in defending Vale, as well as restoring Mistral's honour by capturing these traitors" replied Olivier, holding only a glass of sparkling water. "Tell me however, what shall be their fates? Will they not be transferred to our custody to be taken back to Helike to stand trial?"

"Given the sensitivity of the situation, they will remain my prisoners until I see fit. They still need to be fully interrogated, to which we will then decide what we shall do with them" answered Ironwood, very much looking forward to what they would learn from them. "Furthermore, you boys haven't even graduated from Haven as Huntsmen yet; therefore you don't have powers of arrest."

"With an official co-signed letter by two Grand Veneurs, we would..."

"You want to dispense justice in the name of your Kingdom, we get it" interjected Qrow, sliding a pint of pear cider to Allen, who was propped up on a stool in the process of tuning his lute. "But we've been dealing with these bastards for over half a year already. You've done your part and we're grateful, but let us handle the rest."

The Cuirassier captain eyed his peers carefully, being sure to not display any of his frustrations. (A/N: I honestly never expected to include an author's note in the middle of the story, but I feel as if I need to. While "peers" is typically used to refer to those of your status, in this context, I am using it in the sense of "peerage", as in "a member of the nobility in Britain or Ireland, comprising the ranks of duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron". In the context of _RWBY_ , as well as my rewrite, the Huntmasters have political power, and have effectively been seen as Lords for centuries. I hope that clears things up.)

"I understand. And what of Pyrrha?"

"She has already been informed of the current situation" reassured Ozpin. "All that remains are the following two matches to give James' men enough time to clean up the remaining White Fang forces."

As if on cue, the doors of the skybox opened to reveal Winter walking hotly towards them.

"Ah, Miss Schnee. Welcome back" greeted the silver-haired Huntmaster. "Given that you are here, I take it that the mission was successful."

"Yes, why didn't you give me your latest sitrep?" Ironwood asked facing her, as he knew the look on her face meant that something was wrong. "Where is Adam Taurus and his men?"

Winter was quiet for a moment, standing straight but bore a very uneasy expression.

"We managed to capture some of the White Fang members, as well as recover pieces of intel that were within the warehouse our informant spoke of" she reported.

"How many casualties?"

"None of our men were injured or killed, sir."

"Very good, Major. And Taurus?"

Winter paused again, shifting uncomfortably. "We...do not know, sir."

Ironwood and the others watched her carefully, not entirely sure what she was getting at.

"Spit it out, Schnee" the older Atlassian ordered, placing his drink on the bar, and resting his arms behind his back, returning to his usual formal self.

Winter swallowed the lump that had been building since she left her men at the warehouse, and took a breath to steady herself.

"Adam Taurus and his men vanished, General" she said in a strained yet strong voice. All safe Ironwood blinked in confusion, whereas he lowered his head slightly, his eyes focused on the elder Schnee daughter.

"Full report" he said steadily.

"My battalion engaged the hideout with the other three, fully surrounding the warehouse to ensure that no one would escape. There was a short exchange of fire with some lookouts, but it was over as fast as it had begun. We then stormed the warehouse, where a few White Fang members surrendered to us without a fight. However, that was all we found. Instead of hundreds of men that our informant warned us of, and confirmed after he spoke with Taurus mere minutes before we attacked, there was nothing left safe some technical information. We then found the tunnel."

"The tunnel?"

"Yes, sir. We found a long underground tunnel in the floor of the warehouse crossing beneath the streets, and stretching to the river. At the end of the tunnel, we found a submarine launch with evidence that suggests they had sailed in some form of submersing vessel."

"So they really did manage to raise and repair that sub..." the General muttered under his breath, which the Major heard. "So you just missed them. That is a shame."

"But it does not add up, sir" insisted Winter. "That class of submarine can take around one hundred men aboard. There were nearly a thousand stationed here to attack Albion. It is no stretch of the imagination to suggest Taurus was aboard the sub, but where in Remnant did all of his men go? It is as if they vanished into thin air."

"Could they have more than one vessel?" asked Ozpin.

"The White Fang have no such military capability or funding to acquire military armaments besides small arms; something the Mistralese Council and Military have ensured to enforce" Ironwood replied. "That sub was sunk due to some crudely made sea mines off the coast of northern Mistral in the Atlassian Sea. That's what the White Fang are good at; bombs."

"How did they raise it then, I wonder" Qrow commented, taking a mouthful from his drink.

"We could contact the _Jörmungandr_ and scramble the wing to do a full sweep of the Valian side of the Sea of Souls before it reaches open water" the Major suggested.

"Even if they could make it in time, they would not be able to locate and destroy the sub" shot down Ironwood. "None of those jets are fitted with ASV radar, let alone any that can penetrate the sea if the sub reached its maximum depth."

"Can we contact the Valian Navy? Perhaps they have hydrophones placed in the Sea of Souls that we could use to locate the sub. If not, then their jets or our own could scramble and drop sonobuoys-"

"And cause such a disturbance for nothing? That sub is one of the best of the Kraken fleet, and you know better than I do, she is long gone, and we don't have anything at the ready to find and intercept her. The rat has slipped away once again, and that is the end of it."

The white-haired woman looked at her commanding officer in restrained frustration. It was clear to his eyes that she was wracking her mind for some sort of plan to recover the submarine, not wishing to give in so easily. Finally, her eyes fell in defeat. 

"I'm sorry, General" said Winter, prostrating herself before him with a deep bow, greatly ashamed by failing in her mission.

"That's alright, Major. I would consider Operation Foxhunt a success."

"Sir!" she cried, straightening herself and looking at Ironwood in shock. "We failed in capturing or killing Taurus! The mission was a failure!"

"Yes, but the enemy has fully retreated, defusing the invasion before it began, thus saving the capital without it knowing it was ever in any danger" the Atlassian Huntmaster explained with a smirk. "I would call that a success, wouldn't you?"

"But sir!"

"Winter..." he said in a softer tone, his informal addressing causing her to twitch in surprise, as they were not alone, "the city is safe. That's all that matters."

The white-haired officer stared at her General in frustration before dropping her gaze to her boots, her hands to her sides balling into fists.

"He got away..."

Ironwood slowly walked towards the young woman and placed both his hands on her shoulders.

"I despise him for what he did in Mantle just as much as you do, though I also fully understand why this is bothering you so much. For you, it was not only a blow as a soldier and as an Atlassian, but as a Schnee for the pain he has caused your family. Don't let it discourage you like this. There will be another chance to take him down for good; you have my word" he reassured, though he continued when he saw it wasn't quite enough to raise her spirits. "You demand perfection of yourself. I deeply respect that about you, Winter. It's why you soared through the ranks so quickly and why I personally requested you to be my partner. You are the greatest Huntress in the Kingdom of Atlas. Don't let a small hiccup like this get under your skin, alright?"

Winter finally lifted her head and looked at her commanding officer, and saw that his words, eyes, and expression were all genuine.

"Yes, sir..."

"Very good" said Ironwood, patting her on the shoulder before returning his arms behind his back. "I'd say you've earned some RNR. Take it with gusto."

"Actually sir, I would like to see how my sister's team performs in the tournament finals."

"Don't bother. My niece lost so they're out" Qrow informed, sampling his drink once again. "Nikos soundly whipped her, so it's gonna be her and Wukong in grand finals."

Winter took a breath and exhaled through her nose.

"I see. I suppose it would be a shame to miss that final match."

"Yup. Can I make you anything?"

"Water; cold."

"Boring..."

Winter glared at him as he poured her a glass from a closed jug with ice cubes in it, and slid it to her.

"I suppose I should be taking my leave" remarked Olivier, before downing his sparkling water and placing his glass on the bar. "A la prochain (Till next time). Grand Vendeurs, mes amies, Madame." Tipping his hat to his peers and friends, he turned for the door and gallantly walked out of the skybox.

λΛλ

In the reserved seating, the group were munching away on snacks, patiently waiting for the tournament to resume. Each had found something to enjoy, which all matched their personalities perfectly. Ruby had a paper bucket filled with candy in one hand, and a large piece of cotton candy in the other. Weiss had found a booth selling Atlassian cuisine, and was breaking her disciplined diet to indulge in a fried piece of home called Kartoffelpuffer, a potato pancake, which she was sharing with Neptune, who very much enjoyed it. Yang was enjoying a couple of chilli dogs and a vanilla milkshake, occasionally taking candy from her sister's stockpile. Blake on the other hand had found religion in candied smoked salmon, something that she didn't even know was possible, but was slowly becoming a devout practitioner. She didn't have her mother's skills in the kitchen, but she was now willing to learn in order to have a steady supply of this delicacy. Nora had somehow found a giant soft pretzel, two feet in either direction, and was sharing it with Ren, who had a bag filled with other snacks he didn't have the heart to stop the ginger from wanting. Jaune was eating a southern Mistralese dish at Pyrrha's recommendation called a Gyro, which he found to be very good, but in sharing some with her, she couldn't help but state for the record that her mother's were better. Sun was eating a chocolate banana on a stick, after he had eaten several kebabs, which his teammates were still in the process of eating.

"Welcome back, everyone!" Port boomed. "I hope you're sitting comfortably, for we're ready to begin the semi-finals of the Vytal Festival Tournament! Let's not waste any more time getting to the match."

"Indeed, Peter! The roulette has done its job this year, so it shall be put to rest" explained Oobleck. "That is why I shall be announcing the next match will be between Pyrrha Nikos of Beacon, and Olivier Rouge of Haven!"

By this point, the crowd had become used to the unorthodox manner this year's tournament had been organized, and were just going to sit back and enjoy the matches. In this particular case, it was far easier to accept, as both the Mistralese and the Atlassians instantly recognized Olivier, and a match between himself and Pyrrha, was certainly not one to miss. In the reserved seating, Pyrrha's eyes rested on the wise and handsome face of the Team RROI captain, whose portrait sat across hers on the holoscreen. She sighed as she looked at him forlornly, which didn't go unnoticed by Jaune and Coco.

"What's up?" the blond asked. Before she could answer, Coco chimed in thinking she knew the reason.

"I know that look. Was he your ex or something?"

"N-No! Our relationship was nothing like that!" denounced the redhead, waving her hands defensively. "He is...everyone on Team RROI and Team LION are my mentors, however, Olivier was the one I spent the most time with training. So I suppose he would be my _true_ mentor. I always planned to meet him again after training at Beacon, to show him I had heeded all of his lessons, and grew as a warrior. I just didn't think that I would be seeing him again so soon. It would be incredibly shameful if I were to disappoint him."

Jaune looked at his lieutenant understandingly, and took her hand as he always had.

"You won't" he said softly. "You're incredible, Pyrrha, and this tournament's shown just how much stronger you've become. Now go out there and show him that growth."

Pyrrha looked up at him, and smiled when she saw his confident grin.

"Yes, sir" she replied sweetly, and kissed him on the cheek. She said her goodbyes and strolled off to the arena, leaving her love and friends to spectate the match.

Jaune watched her go, of course, but while he did so, he raised his left hand with his index finger up, as if to make a point or to silence a noisy group.

"Not a word" he said without looking at his friends, knowing all too well what they were going to do. Nevertheless, they all began to snicker, proving they still had plenty of gas in the tank when it came to teasing the couple.

λΛλ

Pyrrha entered the arena and walked directly to her starting position. She took a deep breath through her nose and exhaled through her mouth, steadying her heart, which beat a bit quicker than she would have liked.

'It won't be a true match' she told herself, which was indeed true. 'We will no doubt put on an intense performance just as René and I did previously. There's no need to worry.'

 _'But the enemy has been defeated'_ said a little voice in her mind. _'Perhaps this will be a legitimate fight.'_

'Because of the infiltration of the enemy, nearly nothing about this tournament has been legitimate' she argued. 'Only the matches between the real students who entered from the beginning fought true. This will be yet another match to extend the tournament for the White Army. It will be the match between myself and Sun that will be the true test of strength.'

The little voice faded as it had been soundly defeated, but nevertheless, she was still a little nervous fighting Olivier. Had she grown enough to please his high standards? Even if they didn't fight at their full strength, the older Huntsman-in-training would easily be able to judge her abilities, and see the flaws. Many of her beliefs that she acquired from her family, were strengthen and refined by what she had learned from Olivier, therefore his approval was something that greatly mattered to her. What would she do if she failed to match those standards? Pyrrha was then shaken from her thoughts as the crowd began to cheer, causing her to look up and see the young man in question, marching with a charming smirk on his face, as he held his red feathered hat to the crowd, acknowledging their cheers. When he stepped into the arena, his focus became entirely directed at Pyrrha, indicated by his smirk forming into a bright smile.

"Pyrrha, ma chère demoiselle (my dear young lady), how good it is to see you again" he said graciously, bowing low and holding his hat up and behind, before returning it to his head. In doing so, Pyrrha noticed the Master's Mark broach pinned to his doublet; something she had known that time was the only factor in when he would receive it. However, just as it was with Diego, she had not expected him to achieve master rank so soon.

"As it is for me, Olivier" she responded with a smile and bow of her own. "You and the others appear to be doing well."

"Very much so, though you appear to be doing far better than we expected. I hear that you have decided to sample some wine of the local vineyard. A jeunne homme by the name of Jaune Arc."

Pyrrha's cheeks flushed at her mentor's comment, but didn't allow it to fluster her.

"Yes, my captain, though his name is pronounced 'Jawn' not 'Jown'."

Olivier looked at his underclassman with a quizzical expression.

"But it is written as 'Jaune', which is the correct spelling for the Gaulois word for 'yellow'. Is he part Mistralese?"

"I do not know, actually. I can ask him when the tournament concludes."

"Do not trouble yourself, ma chère. I shall ask him myself when I and the others meet him" he explained. "We must judge him for ourselves to see if he is worthy of you, non?"

"Th-That isn't necessary, Olivier" she politely declined. "Jaune is just the sort of man I've been looking for."

"Oh, neither I nor the others question your judgement, Pyrrha, but that does not mean we do not want to know the man who has won your heart personally. We promise to keep our weapons in our scabbards."

As nervous as that proposition made her, Pyrrha was still rather flattered by her mentor's determination to meet Jaune in the name of her honour. That did give her comfort, as Jaune was clearly a man that shared their worldview of how a man was to treat a woman, and no doubt would satisfy their standards.

"Before we begin, I have one question, Olivier" she began, becoming more serious.

"Oui?"

"This will be another pseudo-match where you will throw by the end, won't it?"

The older Mistralese nodded glumly. "Regrettably, yes."

Pyrrha straightened at that response, sticking her chest forward.

"Then promise me that you and I shall have a true fight after the tournament ends" she demanded.

Olivier gazed back at her for a few moments, before an eager grin spread across his face.

"On my honour, Pyrrha Nikos" he replied, causing her to smile widely, as that was as good as gospel.

"Fighters ready?" Port's voice boomed throughout the Coliseum.

Olivier grasped the locket of the scabbard of his rapier, and pressed on a button with his thumb, causing the sword to jet forward, but stop right before it flew into the air. The beautiful swept hilt was now at eyelevel, with the top of the pommel just before the rim of his hat. He reached over to grasp his weapon with his face framed beneath his forearm and bicep, and drew the magnificently crafted blade that glistened in the sun. He then raised his gauntleted left hand across his chest, before throwing his hand to the left, fully extending his arm. His gauntlet then transformed into a buckler shield, eighteen inches across, with a golden lion's head with its jaws open on the boss, and golden fleur-de-lis decorating the cover by encircling the boss and touching the rim. The gold was eye-catching as it was contrasted with a brilliant azure coloured disk, which Olivier now displayed with pride after slapping it once with the flat of his rapier.

"En guarde!" he shouted, shield held forward and sword raised over his head in High Guard, pointing the tip at Pyrrha. The redhead drew Akoúo and Miló at once and performed a sword flourish after slapping her shield twice, which then caused Jaune to smirk.

'So that's where she gets it from' he realized. 'And she accused _me_ of stealing.'

"Three...two...one...BEGIN!"

What happened next stunned all who were watching; either in the stands or watching at home. The two Mistralese bolted at one another like sprinters, and began a dance of death at break-neck speed. It was now very much apparent to Teams RWBY, JNPR, SSSN, and CFVY, that the Master's Mark was not just some pretty piece of jewelry. Olivier's every move was a calculated choice, without a single action made wasteful; a dramatic contrast to fighters such as Sun, Allen, Nora, and Yang, who either were incredibly flashy or over committal when it came to their fighting style. What also became apparent, was just how talented Pyrrha was for keeping up with him. She was a famous athlete, so of course she was remarkably talented. However, it was now clear _just_ how skilled the young Huntress-in-training truly was, and how she had been holding back the limits of that skill. Sun, who would be facing her next, was now sitting up and leaning forward, paying very close attention. Weiss, it appeared, had indeed been telling the truth that master swordsmen would not swing their swords mindlessly against non-swordsmen, or fight at full strength against less skilled opponents. While she was not entirely correct in technicality, Olivier was indeed taking Pyrrha seriously by matching her abilities, stride for stride.

Or so the redhead thought, as when she thrust Miló and was blocked by Olivier's shield in an uppercut motion, he then suddenly brought it back down and struck Pyrrha in the face with the rim of the shield. It had certainly caught her off guard, dropping her on one knee, and she instantly tasted blood in her mouth, indicating that he had struck her with considerable force. 

"I may be holding back, ma chère, but that does not mean I will be going easy on you" he informed, smirking cattily.

Pyrrha looked up at her mentor, and smiled eagerly; her competitive fire now burning. She then swiped at Olivier's legs in a clockwise spin, which he jumped into the air to avoid, before drawing his pistol and firing at her. Pyrrha raised her shield in time to block it, and was about to charge at him, when she saw him crash upon on her, forcing her to maintain her block. He kicked at her shield with both feet, knocking himself backwards into a flip, and as soon as he touched the ground, bolted at Pyrrha to maintain his pressure. Pyrrha was now in a fighting stance, ready for the attack, and returned fire by parrying the thrust and riposting, which Olivier returned in kind.

While the cameramen were very good at their job, controlling the drones to capture the action, only the experienced warriors could keep up with the fights. This match between the Mistralese was in a league of its own, and while most could not see the level of complexity of the match, they were all nevertheless holding their breath, unable to tell who was gaining the upper hand, if at all. That uncertainty was felt most by Pyrrha's friends, who had never before seen a fight as intense as this, surpassing even that of Pyrrha and René, which had been the leading match in that regard. Jaune stared in shock, as he had trained with Pyrrha for countless hours, and had watched her previous tournament footage, and he had never seen her fight like this before. He was very well aware that she had been holding back when they trained, but this showed just how wide the gulf between them truly was.

Pyrrha was knocked back by a thrust, and she skidded a couple yards, before throwing Akoúo at Olivier, who knocked it away with his buckler shield. Pyrrha had dashed the moment after she had thrown her shield, and brought down Miló in a two-handed strike, aiming for the exposed left side of her mentor's chest. Olivier transformed his buckler back into a gauntlet, and caught the redhead's sword in an iron grip. Without hesitation, he kicked Pyrrha square in the gut, and sent her flying into the sky, though she managed to call Akoúo to her with her Semblance and maintained her grasp on Miló. However, she wasn't sure if Olivier had purposely let her go, or he had simply lost his grip. Either way, the senior Huntsman-in-training was not done with his attack, as he swung his modified Charleville rifled musket off his shoulder. He passed his rapier to his gauntleted hand, and pressed the flat of the blade along the barrel while gripping the stock. Taking aim, he drew back the hammer, and fired. Like a crack of thunder, the rifle unleashed its payload at Pyrrha, a terrifying .50-140 calibre cartridge with a 638 grain bullet, which hit Pyrrha's shield and sent her further into the air.

Modern Huntsman fully utilized the advancements in firearms technology, sticking to semi-auto and full-auto actions, alongside large box, banana, and drum magazines. This allowed them to not only unleash a large volume of firepower, but have plenty to spare. Team RROI was all together different, seemingly trapped in the past with slow firing long rifles. However, they were not fools, for their rifles were modified with internal tubular magazines, allowing them ten shots fed by a loading port under the barrel. The low capacity was made up for by the sheer firepower of the cartridge their rifles were chambered in, which even in the hands of average Huntsmen, could break their collar bones if they did not shoulder them correctly. Team RROI were incredibly talented swordsmen, there was no doubt of that, however, they were also exceptional marksmen, and could lay waste to Grimm even when they were barreling down upon them or their allies. If a precise shot of their rifles did not kill a Grimm, then they would pair off and fire at the same target, which resulted in obliterating the heads of lesser Grimm. This was why when Olivier's shot hit Pyrrha's shield, it hit dead centre, for that was where he meant to put it.

Though the shot hit heavily, Pyrrha used the momentum to flip forward by angling her shield, and transformed Miló into its javelin form, before hurling it at him. Olivier rolled out of the way into a kneeling position, and threw the Martini long lever, ejecting the spent case and loading another cartridge, before firing off at Pyrrha right before she touched down. She knew he would do this and pulled right while raising her shield to cover herself, which was the right call as she deflected the bullet. Not wasting time, she began to run towards Olivier, dodging his shots as she drew onto her javelin, catching it and flourishing back into xiphos form. Knowing she was too close to hit with his rifle, the older Mistralese tossed his rifle sling over his head and grabbed the hilt of his rapier as he rose, turning his gauntlet back into a buckler. They returned to swordplay without pause for a full minute, before finally disengaging, and though Pyrrha was breathing more heavily, neither were out of breath, and they stared at each other unblinkingly. Instead, it gave the audience a chance to breathe, before turning into loud cheering, thoroughly enjoying the intensity of the match.

"You have developed tremendously, ma chére" Olivier complimented, making no effort to hide his pride.

"Thank you, though I'm just getting started" she replied, nonetheless feeling joy from his words.

"Unfortunately I must advise you not firing on all cylinders. One, to avoid any accidents, and two, you require as much of your strength as possible to carry on to the final battle, where your opponent will not be holding back."

"Yes" Pyrrha sighed, remembering that the result of their match had been predetermined.

"Do not succumb to melancholy, ma chére" he said kindly. "Think of this as training before our true match when the tournament is over. However, if you do not win, I will withdraw my promise to it."

Pyrrha knew that he was trying to encourage her, and knowing he was a man of his word, he gave her the peace of mind she needed to carry on. Taking her fighting stance, she prompted Olivier to do the same, and they gazed into each other's eyes, communicating without speaking that this would be their final exchange. Thanks to their many hours of sparring back in Argus, they would know when the right moment to throw would come. Although, knowing just how obvious Olivier's strength was, it would need to be a very convincing attack on Pyrrha's part. The senior Huntsman-in-training would not use his Semblance during this match, as it would raise immense suspicion that he lost while using it. It would be much easier for him to dismiss his loss by claiming that he chose to not use it to have a competition of swordsmanship, but by not telling Pyrrha this; her use of Polarity took him by surprise. If anyone would label that as underhanded on her part, Olivier himself would laugh it off, for who knew her as well as he, and would applaud her for being resourceful.

They resumed their fight, continuing to display their skill with the sword, but also added kicks to the fray, causing them to spin in circles of blinding combat. It seemed as if neither was gaining the upper hand, bringing the tension for the spectators back to where it had been before the first pause of the match. In the crowd, Jaune and the others watched the bout silently, fixated on it, and unable to pull themselves away to speak or even cheer. Weiss was enthralled by it, doing her best to take in every strike, parry, riposte, block, and reposition. To her eyes, it didn't seem that any action was wasted effort, showing how adept the two combatants were. Of course, Weiss was not as attuned to Pyrrha's combat abilities past her accolades, as she had not trained with her, nor watched all her previous matches with such intimacy to see if anything was amiss. Furthermore, given her focus on her studies and preparations to take over her family's company, she had not seen a match this intensive in person in a long time, making it even more difficult for her to see that the match was not going as it should.

Jaune on the other hand had noticed, however, that had been during Pyrrha's fight with René. Now, against Olivier, he had no doubt that she was fighting much more seriously. Pyrrha and her mentor were on a level that he had never seen before, outside of his own family, and were exceeding any previous tournament match he had seen during Pyrrha's years as an athlete. While it did humble him greatly that she was even more powerful than he thought, Jaune couldn't help feeling pride growing in his chest. This young woman, this Champion of Mistral, was in love with him, a thick-headed boy from the north who didn't realize her feelings until she told him. He made a little vow to himself to make sure to pray daily to both the Great Lancer and the Light for being able to win her heart without being aware he had done so. He just hoped that what he planned for them after the tournament would be enough to make up for his idiocy.

The Mistralese continued their heated battle, not letting up for a moment. Though while it appeared as if they were fighting mercilessly, Pyrrha and Olivier maintained eye contact, for they were waiting for the moment to throw the match. That moment arrived at last when the senior transformed his buckler back into a gauntlet, and grabbed onto Akoúo, pulling himself into the air above her, and tried to plunge his rapier at her. Pyrrha parried the attack with Miló, opening up her mentor, and kicked him in the chest, sending him into the sky with the help of her Semblance. Without hesitation she tossed her shield above her before jumping after it, using Polarity to keep the shield suspended, and then jumping off of it after Olivier. He swiped at her when she approached, but she managed to get around him by pulling onto his gauntlet with Polarity, allowing her to get above him and kicked him with an axe kick. As he flew back to the ground, he sheathed his sword and shouldered his rifle and began to fire at her. Pyrrha avoided the first shot as she chased him down, summoning Akoúo while she fell to protect herself. Using her Semblance, she pulled herself at Olivier, whose fall she had halted with said Semblance, allowing her to hit him like a freight train. Olivier hurtled towards the arena, and crashed with such force that the tiles within five yards broke beneath him in all directions, sending dust into the air. Pyrrha landed a few yards away, and she cautiously walked towards him, making sure to appear as if she was uncertain if she had defeated him. When she was just before him, Olivier did not move, lying on his back, hat lying beside him with his long hair a mess, and his rifle still grasped in his right hand. 

Pyrrha was breathing steadily but heavily, standing before her fallen mentor, feeling neither triumphant nor angry as she waited for the verdict of the match to be called.

"Olivier Rouge has been knocked unconscious! The winner is Pyrrha Nikos!" announced Professor Port. "This means that the Grand Finals of the Vytal Festival tournament will be between Pyrrha Nikos of Beacon and Sun Wukong of Shade!"

The crowd cheered excitedly, as the match they had been waiting the entire tournament to see was now set in stone, and would take place in only thirty minutes time. As the stretcher-bearers carried Olivier out of the arena, Pyrrha walked back to the locker area from where she came. However, instead of making her way back to her friends, she sat herself on one of the benches and pulled out her Scroll from a locker she left it in. She tapped a message and sent it, before waiting for the reply. In the stands, Jaune felt his Scroll vibrate, and he fished it out, lifting his eye brows in surprise.

_Pyrrha: I am going to wait for my final match here in the locker area. I would like to be alone to pray and prepare myself. I promise you that everything is fine. This is how I've always done things in regards to tournaments and competing. I'll see you and the others at the winner's circle <3_

Jaune laughed through his nose and quickly wrote back "Good luck, my Invincible Girl", which he unfortunately did not see how it caused her spirits to rise, and put his Scroll away.

"Pyrrha's gonna wait for the final match in the lockers" he announced. "She wants to be alone to prepare herself."

"That's understandable" nodded Ren.

"So are we just gonna sit here and wait for the finals, then?" asked Nora.

"I guess so" said Yang, taking a sip from her milkshake.

"What about you, dude?" asked Neptune, looking at his captain.

Sun didn't respond, as he was still leaning forward with his head resting in his left hand with his thumb under his chin, and his index finger pressed against his lips. He had a rather pensive look on his face, and was clearly deep in thought.

"Sun?" said Blake, which unsurprisingly pulled him out of his musing.

"What?"

"Pyrrha's going to wait alone to get ready for your match, and we're going to wait here for it to start. What about you?" the Cat Faunus explained.

"Oh, OK" he replied, sitting up straight. "Actually, that sounds like a good idea. I'll see you guys later."

With that, he got to his feet and walked away from the others, vanishing around the corner as he reached the exit. This took them all by surprise, especially Blake, as he didn't even look at her as he left; something that he usually went out of his way to do. The raven-haired girl looked at Neptune, slightly worried, as she had never seen the blond with such an expression on his face.

"Is he OK?" she asked, a subtle frown on her brow.

The blue-haired lieutenant hesitated for a moment before replying.

"I...think so. I think he's just taking things seriously and wants to avoid being distracted" he explained.

Blake examined him for a moment, before looking back to the arena, trying to make sense of it all. She truly hoped that this wasn't some bad omen.

λΛλ

Pyrrha was sitting in a seiza position with her hands resting on her thighs, and her head bowed forward, eyes closed. She had a peaceful expression on her face, as she breathed deeply, slowly, and steadily. Before her lay Akoúo and Miló, completing the ritualistic process she had developed as far back as her start in competitive combat sports. Finally freed from the stress and anxiety of an impending assault on Albion, the young champion was able to fall back into some form of normalcy, and truly enjoy herself. All things considered, she had never felt better. She now was fully warmed up after fighting against Olivier, she had a strong opponent to fight against in the finals, she had good friends cheering her on in the stands, and a boy she loved who she would go on a date with after the tournament ended.

It had been a trying week for Pyrrha, taking her on a near Hellish rollercoaster of emotions. Learning the incredible truth that the Four Maiden's fairytale was true, that an attack was planned on Albion, and how she had been required to keep it all a secret from the people she loved most. It had truly been a test of faith, as well as a test of her values and principles. The greatest test of course was what occurred that morning with Jaune, which had caused more pain than she had ever experienced since her childhood. She was incredibly grateful that they had been able to resolve everything, and she fully intended to maintain her promise that she would tell Jaune the truth. She knew she would have to be more forceful with the Order, as much as it went against her nature. Her love for Jaune grew with each passing day, making her very certain that he was the One, and she would not keep secrets from him.

For now, she would focus on her match, giving it the attention she had wanted to since the very beginning. Praying, honing in her mind and spirit to be as tranquil as a mirrored lake, she let all of Sun's previous matches play in her mind. He was no doubt a strong opponent, but she was confident that she had a strategy to defeat him. It was now all about putting that strategy into motion.

"Welcome back one and all to the Vytal Festival Tournament Grand Finals!" Professor Port's voice emerged from the Coliseum speakers, alerting Pyrrha that the time had come. "As I am just as eager as you all are, let us get straight to it! In the Valian corner, fighting for Beacon Academy, four-time consecutive winner of the Mistral Regional Primary Tournament, hailing from the town of Argus of the Kingdom of Mistral, and lieutenant of Team JNPR, Pyrrha Nikos!"

Pyrrha's eyes opened at once, and she grasped her weapons, and attached them to her plackart. She removed her holy pendant, and slipped it into a specially made pocket just behind her armour in front of her heart, so that she would still carry it without it getting caught onto anything. She then walked out of the locker area into the arena once again, to the thunderous cries of the crowd.

_Pyrrha! Clap clap clap! Nikos! Clap clap clap! Pyrrha! Clap clap clap! Nikos! Clap clap clap!_

Thunderous was truly the best way to describe the volume of the cheers that the crowd was generating. Nearly the entire crowd was cheering for her, which wasn't a shock to anyone, as Pyrrha's fame was international. In this case, it was slightly more complex. The Mistralese, who now had no Haven team in the tournament, made up for that fact by cheering for their most famous young athlete, their pride of her on full display. The Atlassians, in nearly the same position as their neighbours, greatly admired Pyrrha's combat prowess and composure, thus cheered for her enthusiastically. The Valians, though fully aware that she was not a Valian herself, knew that she was fighting for their Kingdom, and had no issues whatsoever with her doing so. The Vacuans on the other hand, were keeping their powder dry, waiting for their fighter to make his entrance. Regardless of who was cheering, Pyrrha waved to the stands graciously with a bright smile, making her way to her starting position. When she reached it, Port began to speak again.

"And in the Vacuan corner, fighting for Shade Academy, gaining fame for his skill and good looks, hailing from Paraíso of the Kingdom of Vacuo, and captain of Team SSSN, Sun Wukong!"

This was what the Vacuans present were waiting for, and made up for their fewer numbers by being three times as loud.

_Sun-Wu-Kong! Sun-Wu-Kong! Sun-Wu-Kong!_

They clapped their hands and stamped their feet with every syllable of his name, which actually caused the stands to shake as if loud music was being blasted out of large concert speakers. The reason for this, despite the smaller number of Vacuans, was that many of the Faunus in the crowd, regardless of their realm allegiances, began to join in. Sun was one of the most famous Faunus in the world, and was known by many of his race across Remnant. For those that did not, they were certainly aware of him now. He emerged from his entrance of the Coliseum, arms spread wide and smiling a big opened mouthed smile. He rotated 360° as the fervour in the crowd grew when he appeared on the holoscreens, allowing himself to soak in all the applause.

"C'mon! I can't hear you!" he shouted, hyping the crowd by throwing his hands into the air.

The young ladies in the crowd, whether they were aware of Blake or not, screamed his name trying to get his attention. They unfortunately did not get it, as the Monkey Faunus' eyes found the girl that captured his heart, and giving her a heavily recoiling pistol gesture with a wink. Seeing that he was back to his normal self, Blake allowed herself to smile and blush at him, feeling touched that he once again wasn't paying an ounce of attention at the swarms of his female fans. After another few moments of acknowledging and hyping the crowd, Sun finally arrived to his starting position.

"Sorry about that, Nikos" he said, still smiling away. "You gotta get the crowd hyped for the match; you know how it is."

"That's alright" Pyrrha replied with a smile, fully understanding what he was doing. "You're certainly a natural as a hype-man."

"It's all part of the show" Sun retorted, folding his arms. "And given how polite you are, someone's gotta do it. I do have one thing to ask though."

"Ask away."

"Can you make sure that Jaune doesn't come after my ass after I kick yours?"

The redhead smirked. "If you can ensure Blake does not come after mine."

Sun threw his head back as he laughed. "She does what she wants so no promises."

"Fighters ready?" said Oobleck, causing Sun to draw Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang, reconfiguring them into staff form, and Pyrrha to draw Akoúo and Miló, performing her signature flourish. "Three...two...one...BEGIN!"

With an explosive start, the combatants charged onto one another, weapons clashing together with a heated fervour. Both of them were acrobatic in their fighting style, though while Pyrrha's was far less flashy than Sun's, she nevertheless danced the waltz of combat, step for step. However, what became rather clear, was that Pyrrha was gaining the advantage. Despite having a much longer weapon, Sun was unable to keep the redheaded Huntress-in-training at bay, eating first a strike with Pyrrha's shield in the arm, and then a powerful knee strike to the chin. Pyrrha watched him flip away to put some distance between them, and knew that the hit had been solid, for he hadn't begun the flip beforehand to mitigate the damage. However, she very quickly began to feel uneasy, for she knew that he was much better than that, and allowing himself to be hit twice was strange. Had he possibly taken more damage than she realized during his match with Diego?

These thoughts were also shared by the Beaconites in the reserved seating, who were equally shocked by Sun taking damage, and then backing away so quickly.

"Is Sun OK?" asked Yang, wanting Pyrrha to win of course, but still concerned for the Vacuan Faunus who she had come to like quite a bit.

"Oh he's just fine" Neptune replied without a hint of concern in his voice.

"Are you sure? From what we've seen him do so far, making mistakes like those should be sending up red flags."

"He's just warming up" added Sage, equally as calm.

Yang and Blake looked at one another before turning back to the arena, where the combatants resumed their fight, and after another short exchange, Sun was knocked back by a powerful kick, and landing flat on his back.

"Ok, something's up" Yang exclaimed, holding out her hand at the downed blond who was slowly rising to his feet. "And how has he not warmed up after his match with Pyrrha's mentor?"

"Because that wasn't a warm up; none of his previous matches were" Neptune explained. "Sun's biggest issue is that he takes longer than he should to get his engine going. He did better against Pyrrha's mentors, but he usually takes too long to feel out his enemy before revving up to fight seriously. He's been laser focused on fighting Pyrrha, so he's been holding back where he could, until he can let loose against her, and become...well..."

"Become what?" asked Blake.

The blue-haired lieutenant hesitated for a moment.

"You wouldn't like it." Blake frowned at this, not understanding what she had to do with this, which caused Neptune to smirk before looking back to the arena. "An animal."

Blake looked at him with consternation, and she looked at Sun, who was now on his feet, facing Pyrrha with a grin much wilder than usual on his face. The redhead noticed this as well, and examined him cautiously. There was a light in his eye that she had never seen before, like a fire that mesmerizes those who look into it. Although for Pyrrha, it made her tense. The way he had fought thus far had been very unlike him, and now this peculiar look producing an air of unease, left the champion disquieted. What was about to be unleashed?

Then without warning, Sun bolted towards her, and unleashed a typhoon of staff strikes, causing Pyrrha to snap to attention and defend herself. Immediately, she, and those watching the match, could tell that the Vacuan had raised the intensity tremendously, and Pyrrha needed to reset the pace to avoid being overwhelmed. However, Sun was not giving her that opportunity, instead forcing her to deal with his pace, and steadily turned up the heat. It was then that tide began to turn, as Sun landed a strike on Pyrrha's right side, and again on her left thigh. Pyrrha tried to close the distance between them to riposte, but he refused to let her advance, punishing her attempts with blows to the exposed parts of her body. His staff would slip under her shield, as it wasn't large enough to defend her long legs due to it being considerably smaller than a proper dipylon, and his reach allowed him to parry her sword and riposte without fear of trading attacks. The hits were not devastating, but Pyrrha knew they would be if she allowed this to continue unchallenged. The problem with this however, was that when she succeeded in getting passed Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang's reach, Sun would quickly fire off a powerful kick that she was forced to block. Its power knocked her back, causing her to lose the ground she had gained. This was more than a stalemate; Sun had total control of the match.

"Oh fuck me sideways..." Jaune cursed in realization.

"What's wrong?" asked Ren, recognizing the tone in his captain's voice being dire.

"I just realized something. Sun is a polearm fighter, and a very good one at that. The universal advantage of polearms is their reach and their momentum. It doesn't matter how good of a swordsman, mauler, or martial artist you are if you can't get close to your opponent. Pyrrha's sword would be considered a shortsword, which already gives her limited reach. Even if it were a spatha or some other longsword, or she turned Miló to its javelin form, Sun's staff is still far longer. Her only chance is to get in close where it loses its effectiveness, but that's pointless because not only can Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang segment down into _shotgun_ nunchakus, Sun is very capable as a martial artist. And since Sun doesn't have much armour, or really anything that Pyrrha can grab with her Semblance, even if she disarms him, he'll still have the advantage. I only just noticed, but Sun isn't wearing his vambraces, which means he knew wearing metal would be an issue; trading less armour for more freedom. In short, this is the _worst_ possible match up for Pyrrha."

The rest of the Beaconites opened their eyes wide, now understanding what was going on, and looked towards their friend with grave concern. Team SSSN on the other hand, merely watched the fight with content smiles on their faces, knowing that this had been the plan all along.

The match continued with Sun wailing on Pyrrha, as the champion tried to find a gap in her opponent's defenses, and develop a strategy to reset the pace. Her only option for now was to disengage and prepare for a new approach, but Sun was not giving her that chance. Separating his staff, he began a marching fire barrage, pursuing her when she tried to retreat, before getting close enough to try an attack around her shield. Striking high on her shield with his right nunchaku, he spun clockwise into a crouch, and struck her abdomen with his elbow, just where her armour stopped. Unlike Jaune, Pyrrha did not wear a full suit of armour, where if she had faulds, they would have protected her. Pyrrha gritted her teeth as she felt the pain of his attack, but managed to return fire before the blond could get away, by bringing down Miló and striking him with the pommel. It landed, but this time she could feel him turn his head away to mitigate the damage. Sun then continued to spin so that he could connect the nunchaku into a full half of his staff while in a sideways flip, before planting the tip of that half into the ground. Meanwhile he did the same with the other nunchaku, and reconnected it with the first, allowing him to push off the ground, and gracefully flip into the air, landing on his feet with a wild smile.

The crowd cheered at Sun's brilliant attack and retreat; the Vacuans overjoyed to see their countrymen had taken the advantage in the match against the Mistralese Regional champion. The Beaconites cheered for Pyrrha, encouraging her to the best of their abilities, hoping that Sun wouldn't get into her head. Jaune joined in the outcry of support, though he wished he could do more. Pyrrha stared down her opponent, where Sun couldn't hold back a laugh when he saw the look on her face.

"I suspected that you were holding back to a certain degree" the redhead commented, keeping her breathing steady. "However, I did not realize it was to this extent. You're much better than your reputation indicated."

"Well, isn't that a great complement" Sun replied, genuinely taking it to heart. "But as my dad likes to put it 'Never play an ace when a two will do'. You were my goal from the beginning, so I'm pulling out all the stops for this one. Hope you're not scared, Nikos."

Pyrrha gazed at him for a moment, before a slightly fiendish smirk appeared on her face. It was rather out of character for her, however, this was the first time since she came to Vale that she would have a challenging fight, and now that the enemy had been taken down, she could allow herself to be enthralled by the thrill of competitiveness. She performed a sword flourish, transforming Miló into its javelin configuration, and rested the shaft of the weapon onto one of the scooped indentations in her shield, the head pointed right at Sun.

"It will take more than a few lucky hits to scare me, Wukong" she replied in kind. Sun's grin widened, and he performed a flourish of his own, spinning his staff above his head before taking a stance with his left leg raised.

They paused for only a moment, before charging at one another once again. Before entering the range of their weapons, Pyrrha threw Akoúo at Sun, who avoided the shield by jumping over it with a full twist, and landed on his feet without breaking his momentum, continuing to run towards his opponent. Pyrrha immediately pulled back onto her shield with Polarity, which Sun only noticed at the last moment, and threw himself into a back flip, taking care to tuck in his tail to avoid having it cut off. The redhead had since closed the distance between herself and her opponent, then slid on her knees and legs below him, catching her shield by the modified centre grip with her left hand, and stabbed upwards with her javelin. Sun saw the incoming attack, and knocked it away with the first quarter of Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang, using the momentum of the block to then spin clockwise and attack her with the other end of his staff. Pyrrha blocked the thrust with Akoúo as she pulled her left leg from under her, pivoting clockwise and rose to her feet. She tried to shield bash Sun while he was still airborne, but when she blocked his staff strike, he planted it into the ground and used it as an anchor point to kick her shield, and use it as a stepping stone to jump away from her.

Refusing to let him get away, the redhead threw her javelin at him, running after it. As she predicted, Sun saw the projectile coming, and he spun around to deflect it with a windmill flourish. Miló would have been thrown to the other side of the arena if Pyrrha hadn't grabbed it with Polarity, which she caught in mid sprint, and began to engage once again in polearm combat with Sun. This only lasted for a dozen strikes or so, when Pyrrha thrust from behind her shield, causing Sun to duck. She was about to knee him in the face, when she felt something wrap around her arm, and realized that it was Sun's tail, which shocked her, for its grip was far stronger than she would have thought. With his tail locked, Sun pulled her forward as he separated his staff into to two segments, one in each hand. He struck her behind the right knee which was unarmoured, causing her leg to buckle, and struck her across the face with his right staff segment.

Slightly stunned, Pyrrha allowed herself to be thrown by Sun pulling her arm with his tail as he caught her midsection with his shoulder, standing up. She recovered quickly however, and pushed off the ground with her hands to flip away, quickly facing him, as her training took over to never show the enemy her back.

'I can hear him scolding me now' Pyrrha thought, the face of her Guild Master from Argus materializing in her mind, which caused her to laugh to herself.

That scolding was warranted of course, as a great deal of his advice and warning had come to fruition. While not fully armoured, the greaves, poleyns, cuisses, and vambraces she wore, did a good job at protecting her. In conjunction with her shield and corset plackart, Pyrrha was well armoured, especially in comparison to other Huntsmen-in-training, which grew even further in scope with her fellow Huntresses, who did not where armour. There were limits however, and now they were coming into play. Akoúo was considerably smaller than a proper dipylon shield, which were between 1.10 and 1.50 meters in diameter, meant to cover the entire body, and would protect the unarmoured sections; in Pyrrha's case, those would be her upper thighs and shoulders. Akoúo was purposely made smaller to compliment her mobile fighting style, as well as making it easier for her to throw and control it in flight with her Semblance. Dipylons were also meant to be used in formation combat, which she would most likely never take part in during her lifetime, therefore a smaller version made the most sense. Furthermore, to compensate for Akoúo's size, she armoured her legs accordingly, which proved thus far to do the trick.  
  
The problem that remained was that there was a major part of her body that was left exposed; her head. She knew, and had been told repeatedly to wear a helm of some kind, as it seemed foolish not to. However, given that she needed clear visibility to not only make full use of Polarity when controlling Akoúo and Miló, but full peripheral vision to see any metallic objects for her to make use of Polarity in combat, she chose to not wear any form of helm. She was paying for that now of course, as she felt the right side of her face throb in pain, though it was slowly fading. Perhaps she would have to have a word with her Master when she returned home.

In the stands, her friends watched with growing anxiety, seeing just how dominant Sun was against Pyrrha.

"He's good" Weiss stated, watching him reconnect his staff segments together. "He's _very_ good."

"Of course he is" Neptune replied proudly.

"Isn't Pyrrha at her best in one-v-one fights?" asked Yang.

"Yeah, but _everything_ else is not in her favour" Jaune reminded, resting his arms on his knees with his mouth pressed into his hands. "And then there's the issue of Sun's Semblance..."

At that moment, Sun dashed forward just as Pyrrha did, but then slid on one knee as he held his hands in prayer, cradling his staff between his index fingers and thumbs. He began to glow gold as he came to a stop, and three Aura clones emerged from his body, rushing Pyrrha. She halted immediately, and tried to position herself so that she couldn't be flanked, however, that instantly proved to be impossible, as the clones were just as acrobatic as the original, and it was not possible for her to keep up with them. Furthermore, the clones were not armed, so their goal wasn't to attack her with a tempest of staff strikes, but to punch and kick her, opening her up for them to grab onto her arms and legs. With not even a scrap of metal on the clones to control, Pyrrha tried to free herself with raw strength, but that proved unfeasible, for the clones made sure to grab her legs so that she couldn't break from the last clone's rear naked choke.

"This is bad!" cried Nora, beginning to feel genuine fear for her friend.

"She needs to break out of that hold before Sun attacks her himself" Ren added with a frown on his face.

"He can't–" corrected Jaune, but then stopped and felt his heart fall into his stomach, when Sun stood and ran towards Pyrrha.

"What?!" cried Team RWBY in unison.

"He's not supposed to be able to move while using his Semblance, isn't he?" exclaimed Yang, recalling to his match against Ian.

"Yes" confirmed Neptune.

"Well?!"

"He's been meditating."

Yang's mouth hung open in disbelief, not willing to accept on its face that Sun had learned to overcome the major flaw with Yīqiān Gè Lièrì. In reality, the Vacuan Faunus hadn't learned to move while controlling his clones in a day, but he had practiced to move with three clones for thirty seconds. This was as long as he could manage, which was why he had avoided using his Semblance during the Singles Round, until he saw an opportunity to unleash it. The match with Ian had pushed him to his very limit, causing him to fall asleep at the bottom of the tree he sat under. Nine clones where the most he could create at a single time, and it would drain him completely, requiring him a great deal of time to recover his Aura, which was why he had avoided wasting any. It was also why he ate in between his matches that day, something that was normally ill-advised, but he needed to recover his strength for the final match against Pyrrha. Sun had indeed paid close attention to her bouts, and had slowly worked on a strategy to face her. Thus far it was working perfectly, and he now planned on winning the tournament right then and there.

Reaching Pyrrha, he took over his clones grapple, locking his legs inside hers from behind, using both hands to lock her sword arm, and kept her shield arm in place with his strong prehensile tail. Instantly the clones vanished, and Sun snapped to a strong grapple, pushing her to the ground, and applying pressure to her right arm.

"Well this is unexpected!" said Port in honest surprise. "Wukong is trying to get Nikos into a submission hold; most likely to get her to yield."

"Indeed it is, Peter! I don't think that I have ever seen a single match during my lifetime that ended with a submission!" added Oobleck, adjusting his glasses. "Knock-outs, Technical Knock-outs, and Ring-outs are the most common by a large margin. However, by the rules of the tournament, a combatant can win by either getting his or her opponent to tap out, either physically or verbally. While there is nothing in the rules that state hold or pins will result in a count, depending on the tournament, it may result in the proctors giving the victory to the grappler if the grappled cannot free themselves. As far as I know, Miss Nikos has never faced a grappler, as who would grapple a Grimm?"

"What will she do now then, I wonder?" Port continued.

In the arena, Sun maintained his hold on Pyrrha, steadily increasing the pressure.

"Tap, Nikos" he said strongly.

"I refuse" she retorted, speaking roughly but clearly through her teeth.

"You can't break out of this" he assured, increasing the pressure again, nearing the point that most would panic from the pain. "Just give in."

"Will you break my arm otherwise?" Pyrrha asked, showing no sign that the pain or the threat was affecting her.

"Are you nuts?! I'd never do that to you; friend or not!"

To add to his shock, Pyrrha grinned at this.

"Then this fight is far from over" she said, looking at him from over her shoulder.

Before the blond could say another word, he felt more than heard a loud pop, and he let go of Pyrrha in shock. Without hesitation, the redhead unleashed a powerful kick straight into the air, her boot connecting with Sun's chin, and sending him soaring into the sky. He managed to flip onto his feet before landing, but immediately felt his legs give, forcing him to stop himself from falling forward by using his staff as a crutch. He held his jaw with his right hand, and it took him several moments to get his head to stop spinning. To say his bell had been rung was an understatement, as not only did he feel his legs turn to jelly, but there was a literal ringing in his ears. Thankfully both were slowly subsiding, but he was nevertheless flabbergasted at what just happened, and he looked at Pyrrha wide-eyed, watching her rise to her feet.

In the reserved seating, all of their friends had leaned forward in shock, not understanding what had just happened. It was then Jaune who first noticed what was wrong, and he felt sicker than he had ever been. Pyrrha stood straight, allowing her sword and shield to drop to the ground, and she reached over and grabbed her right wrist with her left hand. The camera drones focused on her, and with high definition clarity, could see that her right arm was now sitting lower than her left, with a new divot in her shoulder. This was now being identified by some members of the audience, who gasped as they did, knowing it meant.

"Her arm..." moaned Jaune, causing the others to look at it and see what he saw, "...it's dislocated."

"Sun went too far" breathed Yang in horror. "Why didn't he stop?"

"He did stop" defended Neptune, his mouth hanging open.

"She did it on purpose" gasped Scarlet, equally stunned as his teammates.

"No..." said Weiss incredulously. "She wouldn't do that...she wouldn't go that far...would she?"

She turned, as did the others to Jaune, who was forced to look away from Pyrrha by Ren grabbing his arm.

"I...I don't know" he replied. "We've never had any accidents while training, so I've never seen her do anything like that. But I guess as a pro athlete she gained that level of competitiveness; plus she's probably used to such injuries..."

It was clear from both his tone of voice and the expression on his face, that the blond swordsman was grasping at straws, though there was some sound logic to his reasoning.

"I guess" Yang said slowly. "I've popped my arms out of their sockets before while training with my dad, and it fucking hurts. I'd never do it on purpose; but I guess it works since she got out of his hold."

"She's hardcore" added Coco, cradling her injuries subconsciously. "She didn't become a champ by just sitting on her ass."

They all looked back at Pyrrha, not knowing to feel impressed or fearful, as this action could cost her the match or worse. Jaune was of course the most worried of all, and he stared at her with dread, forcing himself to stay seated and not run to her aid. There was nothing he could do but sit and watch, even if he desperately wanted to stop the match. Victory wasn't worth that much injury in his mind, though his emotions were getting in the way of his thinking, as this was a friendly tournament, and not the battlefield. But he knew deep down, that she was a fighter, and she would not give up. She wouldn't forgive him if he got in the way, either physically entering the arena, or calling the proctor that they were throwing in the towel. She would have to fight till the end. He knew that Pyrrha had said otherwise, but for the first time in a long while, Jaune prayed that she would win and would come out without serious injuries. 

In the arena, Sun continued to watch Pyrrha in amazement.

"Did you do that on purpose?" he demanded. "Are you fucking crazy, Nikos?" 

Pyrrha pulled her arm forward, holding it straight by the wrist, and guided the ball of her arm bone back into her shoulder socket, groaning lightly as she felt it pop back into place. She was used to such injuries, and had taken the time to learn how to treat them during her career as an athlete.

"You said you weren't willing to break my arm, so I did what I needed to break your grapple" she replied calmly, rotating her right arm to make certain it was properly set, before stooping to pick up Akoúo and Miló.

"This isn't war! I don't like fighting girls as a rule, especially the girl of a friend, who's friends with the girl I like, but I'm taking this seriously because of how good you are. I'm sorry, but even if you were a guy, I wouldn't go so far as break a bone; not on purpose anyways. Does winning matter that much to you, champ?"

"You misunderstand" she replied cracking her neck "I did not train as an athlete for the glory or the accolades. I did not decide to become a Huntress for thrill or fame. I did it all to be the best warrior I could be, to protect people. _That_ is a holy vow; so long as I draw breath" she retook her High Guard stance, "I will fight."

Sun gazed at her in astonishment. There was a fire in her eyes that he had never seen before, and he could feel them burn into him. Something had awoken in her, and she now gave off an air that caused the hair on the back of his neck, as well as his tail, to stand on end. It seemed that she too needed a while to get truly warmed up, and now she was literally firing on all cylinders. Despite his reservations, Sun ate off that energy with gusto, the worry and confusion in his face turning to wild excitement. He performed a staff flourish and ended it with a chest pound, pointing the tip of Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang at his greatest opponent yet.

"Jaune is one lucky son of a Grimm to call you his" he said respectfully, grinning from ear to ear.

"Thank you, and Blake is equally lucky to do the same with you."

"Still working on that one."

This conversation would be their last of the match, and they resumed their fight with reinvigorated determination. Seeing that her injury wasn't affecting her, Jaune and the rest of their friends breathed a sigh of relief, but none could shake the feeling that this was but a warning of what was to come. Pyrrha had now reset the pace of the fight, matching Sun's earlier vigor with her own, and was even surpassing it. Sun was not letting up, not in the least, and kept pace to the letter, hooting and yelling in excitement. Taking a page from his book, Pyrrha was now incorporating kicks in her attacks, and was now making full use of Polarity. She had tried several times to wrench free his staff from his hands, but his grip was as fierce as ever, and it was frivolous to try further. Furthermore, she had noticed that Sun had taken care to remove any and all metal from his person, making sure that there was nothing available for her to grab onto. There were obviously small bits of metal such as buttons and zippers, but if she were to grip them with Polarity, they would simply rip free of his clothing, having not the strength to support his weight. Instead, she used it to not only manipulate her weapons in flight as projectiles, but to levitate her shield to block attacks while leaving herself free to move and attack with better result. This intensity resulted in them trading blows, but they continued to fight on, not giving either a chance to breathe.

Pyrrha then tried to use Sun's tactics against him, for she knew that she needed to get passed his defenses to pay him back for his previous hits. She attempted to strike his chin with the edge of Akoúo, and the moment the blond leaned back to avoid it, she kept it in place with Polarity, obscuring his view, and she attacked his open right side. It was then that what she had tried to avoid from happening during her other matches occurred, for Sun pivoted in his attempt to dodge, and Miló plunged into his abdomen. Pyrrha gasped in horror, immediately letting go at the sight of blood beginning to run down his side, causing her to blanch. She had meant to strike him with the flat of Miló's head, and even if the edge or point made contact, it should have been deflected by his Aura armour. That last second movement by Sun had been the cause, and now she stared at his wound, her mind going blank. All of this was visible to the audience, and all felt as Pyrrha did. Blake covered her mouth to stifle a scream of terror, feeling sick at the sight of the Monkey Faunus's impaling, not feeling such dread in many months.

While the Beacon faculty had done everything possible to avoid accidents occurring during the tournament, they knew that they could still happen. It was for that reason that they had medics on standby, ready to spring to action, as well as a match proctor just at the end of the arena, who was now signalling to said medics. However, all froze when to their shock, Sun reeled back and unleashed a powerful palm strike that knocked Pyrrha clean off her feet, and sent her flying thirty yards away. Every spectator within the Coliseum or watching remotely stared in macabre wonder as Sun stood unfazed with a javelin protruding from his body. He hadn't been fully impaled, no more than two inches had pierced him, and yet, it remained imbedded, not falling out due to the javelin's own weight. The captain of Team SSSN looked down at the polearm like a curious child with a new toy he had never seen before, and without hesitation, gripped Miló by the middle of its shaft, and pulled it out of him. He didn't even wince while doing so, and tossed it over his shoulder as if it were a crumpled piece of paper, smirking as he did. The proctor and medics stood with their mouths agape for a moment more, before coming back to reality, and began to climb into the arena, when Sun pointed at them without turning his head.

"Don't you dare stop this!" he bellowed, his voice making it clear he wasn't in any mood to be trifled with. "This is just a scratch, so this fight isn't over. Just hang tight cuz I'm about to end it and win!"

The shock of seeing Sun unfazed by his injury lingered to all watching, but the Vacuans in the crowd exploded in approval, excited and proud to see their countryman showing true grit. In the reserved seating, the Beaconites were beside themselves.

"He's crazy" said Yang stunned. "I mean I'm impressed, but he's crazy."

"I know the Vacuans are tough, but this is a bit much" commented Yatsuhashi.

"His Aura seems to have stopped the bleeding at least" added Ren, "but I don't think this fight should continue, for worse injuries are certain to come."

"Think he did it on purpose?" asked Scarlet calmly, which caused Blake to snap to him in bewilderment.

"Most likely" Sage replied, folding his arms with a nod.

"He's done crazier things" sniffed Neptune.

The Cat Faunus was beside herself as the rest of Team SSSN seemed to show not an ounce of concern for their captain. If they were telling the truth that Sun had allowed himself to be stabbed as to land a powerful attack on Pyrrha, then he was either insane or more powerful than any of them could conceive. Blake knew the boy threw caution to the wind on the daily, but this was going too far.

"Pyrrha needs to end this, for both their sakes" argued Weiss, looking to her friend with anxiety.

"Something's wrong!" Nora cried, drawing everyone's attention to the tall redhead, who had gotten to her feet, but wasn't in her regular battle stance.

Pyrrha was instead doubled over with her hands on her knees, her head bowed and unaware of what was around her. Jaune gazed at her in fear, but was too far away to decipher what was wrong, and the camera drones did not have a good enough angle to make it clear.

"I can't see shit" he cursed aloud.

"Here!" said Ruby, retrieving a small spotting scope from her belt, which Jaune took from her and brought it to his eye.

He was now able to see his lieutenant in crystal clarity, and he felt his stomach twist at what he saw. She was sweating profusely as she gasped for air, trying to catch a breath that wouldn't come; her chest rising and falling with only the slightest compression. Her legs were shaking, showing they had taken damage from the strike, that even the tight grip she hand on them could do nothing to stop their quivering.

"She can't breathe" the swordsman announced, unable to take his eye off her.

"That palm strike" Ren said suddenly, memories of old coming back to his mind. "I remember hearing about such a technique to stop ones opponent in their tracks."

"A solar plexus strike" Yang said, also recalling the technique. "My dad taught me it when he trained me to fight hand to hand growing up, but how did he hit her so hard through her armour?"

"Sun's dad is also a martial artist" informed Neptune steadily. "He's been learning to fight ever since he could walk, and those fists of his could break stone from when he was twelve years old. What's one piece of armour to a man like that?"

There was a great deal of pride in the blue-haired Vacuan's voice, and while he did feel sympathy for the current discomfort Pyrrha was experiencing, he would support his captain to the end.

At that moment, Sun ran towards Pyrrha, planning to keep his word and end the fight once and for all, and put the girl out of her misery.

"He's going after her!" shouted Weiss.

Jaune's eyes flew between Sun and Pyrrha, who hadn't yet recovered from the attack.

"Pyrrha, move!" he cried, knowing how hopeless his shouting was.

Somehow Pyrrha heard his cries, and looked to her right to see her opponent barreling down onto her. Her breath had still not returned, and she didn't have the strength to run or even defend herself. However, she did have her Aura. Using her Semblance, she pulled onto Akoúo, but instead of sending it at Sun, she brought it all the way to her, and attached it to her back. To those watching, they didn't understand why she had done this, and in all honestly neither did she, but she was making a major gamble of her own, knowing there was nothing else she could think of to do. All watched as Sun reached the Mistralese, and he raised his left leg high into the sky, intending to bring down a mighty axe kick right onto her head to knock her unconscious. With all the strength she could muster, Pyrrha leaned backward at the last possible moment, avoiding the attack, and wrapped her arms around his waist. She then poured her Aura in Polarity, latching onto Akoúo and all her armour, and with shocking speed and power, threw Sun into a suplex. He collided with the ground, and a massive explosion erupted from the arena, knocking dust into the air, as well as chunks of tile, some of which striking the barrier that protected the audience from such debris.

The massive plume of dust reached its maximum height before spreading in all directions, completely obscuring the fighters from the crowd and the cameras. All watching leaned forward, trying to spot them, but had no choice but to wait for either the dust to clear, or for Sun and Pyrrha to emerge. Teams RWBY, JNPR, SSSN, and CFVY were on the edge of their seats, unsure of the outcome. Ruby being the most sharp-eyed of the group, first noticed a figure in the dust.

"There!" she announced, pointing.

Jaune, still holding the young captain's spotting scope, brought it to his eye, and tried to see who was still standing. After a few moments, a grin mixed with relief and pride spread across his face.

Pyrrha walked out of the dust to the thunderous cries of the crowd, as she headed to where Miló lay, and picked it up.

"Unbelievable!" announced Port ecstatically. "After what might be a strong contender for the greatest suplex in history, it looks as if the winner of this year's Vytal Festival Tournament is Pyr–"

"Wait!" shouted Oobleck. "It's not over!"

Pyrrha turned around to see a dark figure slowly walk out of the crater she had made. Her eyes widened as Sun came into view, as did nearly everyone else, as he was smiling from ear to ear, despite bleeding from his head.

"What the fuck is he made of?" demanded Yang incredulously. Blake felt her stomach twist once again at the sight of his blood dripping down his cheeks and forehead, his smile doing nothing to put her at ease.

In the arena, Sun continued to shock Pyrrha by laughing.

"That's a great look you got on your face, Nikos. I wasn't kidding when I said that they make us tough in Vacuo" he remarked. "Now, let's finish this." He began to walk forward, forcing his opponent to draw her weapons once again.

Pyrrha did her best to take a fighting stance, but she felt her legs begin to shake. Sun had done a fair amount of damage, and his palm strike was still having an effect on her. She wasn't sure how well she could fight like this, if at all, especially that Sun appeared to be able to walk around just fine. She tightened her grip on Miló when he stopped walking, preparing herself for an attack.

And she waited, as did everyone who was spectating the match. But the attack never came, as Sun merely stood their smiling. Pyrrha squinted at him in confusion, unsure of why he was hesitating. Had he taken more damage than he was letting on, and he was instead waiting for her to make the first move? It was only after a few more moments that something dawned on her. Causing Jaune and everyone else watching to blink in bewilderment, she attaching her weapons to her back, and began to walk towards Sun. They held their breaths as she drew closer, and maintained that hold when she was no more than a foot away from him. Now close enough to him, Pyrrha took one look at Sun, before she turned and shouted to the medics waiting beside the arena. They sprung into action and joined the two combatants, and examined the blond before the proctor reached to his ear piece and spoke into it. In the commentator's box, both Port and Oobleck listened to him, and both their eyes widened.

"Sun Wukong is still standing, but is unconscious!" announced Port in astonishment. "The winner of the 40th Annual Vytal Festival Tournament is Pyrrha Nikos of Beacon Academy!"

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause, as did Teams RWBY, JNPR, and CVFY, whereas the rest of Team SSSN slumped back into their seats. Blake was the only Beaconite that wasn't cheering, as she was unable to take her eyes off the injured Vacuan Faunus.

As soon as the medic touched Sun, he suddenly reanimated and threw a punch straight at Pyrrha, who barely managed to catch his fist with both hands. He began to blink in confusion, not sure where he was, and began to look around at the thundering crowd.

"What just happened?" he asked. His eyes then landed on one of the holoscreens which was now displaying Pyrrha's portrait adorned with a winner's banner.

"I believe you lost" informed Pyrrha apologetically. "Rather impressively, as you were still standing when you fell unconscious."

It took a few more moments before Sun was able to fully register what he was being told.

"Damn it..." he groaned, letting is hands fall to his sides in defeat.

"Don't be like that, Sun; you did incredibly well" she continued. "You're truly the strongest opponent I've ever faced."

The Faunus eyed her suspiciously, knowing she wasn't one to lie, but was still struggling with his pride. He finally sighed.

"You do realize this ain't gonna go well back home, right? The whole rivalry between the Kingdoms, and you being the big hotshot from Mistral; I'm never gonna hear the end of it."

The redhead gazed at the blond with a soft sympathetic look, before extending her right hand.

"Then how about we don't look at it as two celebrities fighting for glory, but as two friends training together to defend our Kingdoms" she offered.

Sun looked at Pyrrha's hand, and then to her genuine smile, causing him to laugh through his nose and grin softly.

"Ya, that'll help with my bruised ego a little" he replied before taking her hand and shaking it in peace.

"Will Yang Xiao Long please join her friends in the winner's circle so we may officially conclude the tournament" said Port. "After the medics properly bandage Mr. Wukong's injuries, of course."

"You heard the man!" shouted the blonde in question, and jumped to her feet, bolting for the exit.

Her sister and teammates ran after her, tailed by Team JNPR, SSSN, and CFVY. They ran through the halls beneath the arena to reach the opposite side of the Coliseum, with Ruby doing her best to not rush on ahead. When they reached the Mistralese corner, they could see through the entrance to the arena that the tiled floor of the arena had already been transformed with three designated squares in the middle. Standing before them were Huntmasters Ozpin and Ironwood, smiling proudly before Pyrrha and Sun, who was currently being fitted with a bandage around his head.

"I'll be back" announced Yang, and walked towards her friends to take her spot next to them. When she reached the arena, she was politely greeted by the Huntmasters, as well as her friends, before being instructed to stand on the square to Pyrrha's left.

"My young Huntsmen-in-training" Ozpin began, his voice sounding through the Coliseum as he spoke through a lapel microphone. "You have performed incredibly in this year's tournament, facing powerful opponents, and against overwhelming odds. You have fought hard in the names of your academies and your Kingdoms, and you have done them all proud. Every year I am pleasantly surprised at how talented the next batch of students are, and that this generation, is setting itself to surpass even my own. Therefore, it gives me great pride and honour to bestow onto you the decorations of the top three combatants of the Vytal Festival Tournament."

Ironwood opened the polished wooden case he was holding to reveal three beautifully crafted medals in the expected colours of gold, silver, and bronze.

"In third place, of Team RWBY of Beacon Academy, is Yang Xiao Long." The blonde bowed her head as Ozpin placed the bronze medal around her neck, and shook her hand. "In second place, captain of Team SSSN of Shade Academy, and proving quite clearly to be a son of Vacuo, is Sun Wukong." The Faunus graciously accepted his medal, and felt a tad better about himself thanks to Ozpin's complement. "And last, but certainly not least, in first place, lieutenant of Team JNPR of Beacon Academy, the Champion of Mistral, and one of the most talented, compassionate, dedicated, and truly marvelous young ladies I have ever had the honour of knowing, Pyrrha Nikos."

Pyrrha actually felt her cheeks warm at the praise, as she could tell it was truly genuine, and knew much had to do with her aiding the Order in suppressing the enemy's infiltration. She accepted the medal with humility, and bowed respectfully to the Huntmasters, honoured by their trust in her, even if she had begun to doubt them.

The three students then felt the ground beneath them slightly vibrate, and were surprised to see that the squares they were standing on were now rising, forming three pillars that became a podium. The three positions on the podium rose to ten, fifteen, and twenty feet respectively, allowing the excited crowd to take one final look at the combatants, and for the cameras to show them to the world. Yang threw her fists in the air, appropriately as a prize fighter would, while Sun, either ignoring his wounds or honestly did not feel any pain, beat his chest and shouted to the crowd with bombastic fanfare. Pyrrha, of course, did what she had done countless times before, by drawing Akoúo and Miló, and pointing her xiphos sword to the sky, basking in the cheers of the crowd.

From the frame of the exit, the others watched their friends with pride. But the one, who was the most proud, was Jaune. His eyes were magnetized to the beautiful redhead, feeling a level of pride in his heart that he had never felt before. It was more than pride as a captain or pride as a friend; it was the pride for someone that meant the world to him. Of course he had never lost faith that she would be the one to win the tournament, as did many others, but nevertheless, his heart swelled seeing her standing tall on the podium. Her beautiful eyes and hair caught the sun light, becoming just as radiant as the smile upon her face; the very same smile that took his breath away every time he saw it. It made him ask himself once again why hadn't he realized her feelings sooner? It was never a question about her beauty, as he had not a single issue acknowledging how beautiful she was. The answer of course was that he placed her on a pedestal as a woman after joining her on the pedestal as a friend. The culprit was his own insecurity, as it told him Pyrrha was beyond his grasp, while telling him that Weiss was entirely in his league. It was the same insecurity that convinced him to act like an entirely different person than whom he really was; that it would be the best way to attract girls to him. He had gone about it entirely wrong, and he had learned some valuable lessons. And while that list of lessons learned grew longer by the day, there was one thing that he had learned that he knew would change his life forever: he was in love with Pyrrha Nikos.

As the podium retracted back into the arena, the others finally entered the battle grounds, eager to congratulate their teammates. Ruby ran ahead of the others and jumped into her sister's arms, proudly hugging her as she was joined in by Weiss and Blake. Sun began high-fiving his teammates, who while all were disappointed that he hadn't won the tournament, were nevertheless proud of him for doing so well throughout. The blond Faunus accepted their praise with a grin, but it faltered when he looked at Blake, who also turned to face him. He suddenly found himself in Neptune's shoes, feeling disappointed in himself for losing with her watching. He had set his sights on the prize of winning the tournament, getting the girl, and returning to Shade triumphant in defeating the Champion of Mistral. And yet here was, in second place, losing the tournament, and standing before the girl he had fallen for, feeling ashamed.

"So..." he began, carefully rubbing the back of his head to avoid his bandage, "I looked pretty bad out there, didn't I? And now after talking a big game, I'm eating crow, or whatever that expression is. Pretty lame, huh?"

Blake looked at him with actual surprise, as his normal bursting-with-confidence persona was greatly dampened, almost to the point of him being shy. She honestly didn't think that was possible for him, but here he was, sheepishly rubbing his head as if he had gotten a bad grade on a test, and didn't know how to tell his parents. It was actually kind of cute, and proof that even the Vacuan with an endless supply of energy, could be subdued. The Cat Faunus was jerked from her thoughts as Yang nudged her with her elbow, encouraging her to respond. Taking a breath with her cheeks tinted pink, she did.

"You really are brash and you throw caution to the wind, doing really crazy things, and scaring me half to death" she said at last, before giving him a small but warm smirk. "But you were still pretty cool while doing it." Blake felt her cheeks warm further as her words caused Sun to look up at her, and return her smirk with his usual bright smile.

Lastly, Pyrrha was being hugged and congratulated by Nora and Ren, with Team CFVY interspersed with the others. Jaune was still behind them all, watching Pyrrha smile and accept everyone's felicitations humbly. At last, their eyes met, and like every other time they did, the world around them melted away. The blond began to walk forward, but needed to stop as Pyrrha ran to him and jumped into his arms, causing him to catch her by holding her legs. She wrapped her arms around his neck, letting her hair fall around his face, as they stared deeply and lovingly into each other's eyes. They could have stayed that way forever, if they weren't once again interrupted by their friends.

"You idiots!" hissed Yang. "The cameras!"

The couple looked around them to see that indeed, all the cameras in the Coliseum were now pointing at them, plastering their embrace on all eight holoscreens, and broadcasting to millions of televisions, computer screens, and smart devices across Remnant. They both blushed deeply, greatly embarrassed by not only forgetting where they were and acting so carelessly, but that they could easily feel the tension in the air. To all watching, they were expecting them to kiss; a perfect way to celebrate such a tremendous victory. In all honesty, why shouldn't they? They both felt that desire for weeks now, having a number of "perfect" moments to seal the deal, even if they hadn't yet gone on an official date. For Pyrrha, she had wanted to for nearly as long as she had known him, and Jaune, now realizing he had fallen for her, wanted to just as strongly as she did.

And yet, there was still that hesitation. For Pyrrha, she wanted to honour their agreement to go on a date, wanting to start their romantic relationship correctly, as she truly felt that Jaune was the man she was going to marry. As for Jaune, there was still something he had been keeping secret from Pyrrha, and he knew that he would have to tell her before crossing the point of no return. Nevertheless, having his feelings finally set in stone, he knew exactly what to do.

"Sorry, we kinda got caught up in the heat of the moment" he said to the shorter blonde.

"You _really_ don't like listening to my advice, do you?"

"Not really, but I will take half of your advice, and ignore the other half" he replied.

All present looked at the captain confused, just as he slipped his left hand under Pyrrha's knees, changing his hold on the girl into bridal style, and without another moment of delay, dashed back to the arena exit. The spectators burst into laughter and cheers that turned into thunderous applause. While they didn't get the romantic kiss they were expecting, running away as if they had eloped was just as good. It unfortunately gave the sensationalist journalists a great deal of ammunition, but even the conversation of what would have been worse, what they had just done or kissing, wasn't even worth having. The world was now Jaune and Pyrrha's oyster, and nothing would get in their way.

Their friends, of course, were equally as enthused as the crowd, laughing and clapping as the couple took off. Yang shook her head in defeat, knowing there was no way to rein them in now, but had to be honest with herself that they were outrageously cute together.

"Those two are unreal" Coco remarked.

"Yes they are" added Yang.

"They're going to have a lot of children" added Velvet, which secretly everyone had been thinking for a while.

"How many, do you think?" her captain asked.

"Well, Jaune has seven sisters..." informed Nora, causing those who were not aware of this fact, to raise their eyebrows in shocked admiration.

"Oh those two are gonna be _busyyyyy_ " chimed Sun, getting a hearty round of laughter from the others. "Right, let's blow this popsicle stand and head out! Now that the tournament is over, it's time to party!"

With that, the young Huntsmen-in-training walked back to the Mistralese locker area to make their way out of the Coliseum. Without the stress of the tournament getting in their way, they were now ready to enjoy themselves; to experience what may very well be the best days of their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is the end of the Vytal Tournament! Ho boy, that was intense. I want to state for the record that I fully acknowledge that the tournament was a mess. Going through the canon version of V3 was a nightmare in and of itself, and trying to come up with a new version that made some sense, was a challenge. Having to bring in teams LION and RROI, characters that are from my full rewrite and weren't meant to be introduced until the main characters reached Helike, was something I wrestled with over a year ago. I pulled the trigger knowing the part they would play in the story overall, and they fit in better than I expected.
> 
> Nevertheless, this tournament was hard to work with, and it most certainly could have been better. I had to change the structure of the tournament itself, as well as drop entire fights. I had originally planned for Yang to fight Ivoire for example, but given that the tournament was "rigged" from the beginning, I had to make the hard call to cut things that made it clunky. I do hope that it was still entertaining to read, especially with what was occurring behind the scenes with the Order and Salem's minions.
> 
> Of course, the main point of this chapter was to show off Olivier, Pyrrha's mentor, as well as show off that Sun isn't a joke. As the series progressed, CRWBY went out of their way to make him a buffoon, and obviously, that hasn't sat well with me. This is why both he and Olivier will have more moments to shine, as they have important parts to play in this story, and the story overall. Also, this chapter was to show that Pyrrha isn't as delicate as V3 made her out to be against Cinder. Like Coco said, "She didn't become a champ by just sitting on her ass".
> 
> And that is that. Thirteen chapters, just like the show. We are done here. I hope you all had a lovely time reading this, and I thank you for everyth– yeah right! Could you honestly imagine ending it here? To make this story that short? I wouldn't even DARE to think of such a ghastly thing! We aren't even HALF way through this story, and I cannot wait for you to see it.
> 
> That being said, I do need to explain how things will be moving forward. Every remaining chapter of DDCT after chapter XIV, will be longer than the ones that came previously. This means that I will need more time to edit them. Unlike CRWBY, I actually want this story to turn out well, and that means taking my time to go over everything to make sure it all makes sense.
> 
> Speaking of which, how about V8C7. I'd like to make another prediction. I think that Salem will taunt Jaune with Pyrrha's corpse, or something to that effect; Grimm Pyrrha comes immediately to mind. I expected them to insult Pyrrha one final time before the end of the show, and people have been afraid of CRWBY doing this for years, so THAT will be fun to see this February. I can only hope, that if it does happen, you can find this fic to cleanse your pallet...and your eyes...and your soul...
> 
> With that, I would like to thank all of you for reading this little story of mine thus far. Your passionate reviews have touched me greatly, and you've made this all worth it. I hope that I can continue to entertain you, meet and surpass your expectations, and satisfy you thoroughly.
> 
> Cheers and see you next time.


	14. Fireside Delights

It was now nearing seven in the evening as Team RWBY and JNPR were lounging together in Team RWBY's room. They had been deep in conversation as they waited for Team SSSN to make their return. After they had freshened up from the finals, the Vacuan team had told them to wait, as they said they had something planned so that they could all celebrate the conclusion of the tournament together. The first-years had extended that invitation to Team CFVY, however their upperclassmen admitted they had plans of their own, and had to regretfully decline. In the meantime, the eight Beaconites were waiting for the others to make their return, which was starting to get to some of them.

"Reeeeeen! I'm hungry!" whined Nora, shaking the green-clad boy gently. "Make me something!"

"We'll be eating soon; just be patient" he replied calmly, very much used to such complaints from the ginger. She moaned in annoyance, hanging her head in defeat, as Weiss and Blake were checking their Scrolls.

"What's taking your boys so long?" asked Yang.

"I don't know" replied the heiress, closing her Scroll. "Neptune said he and the others are already on their way, and should be here shortly."

"Unless they're monkeying around, which I bet Sun is."

The blonde's pun caused the others to groan, with the exception of one.

"She's not wrong" said the one, causing them all to turn to see that it was Sun himself speaking, hanging off the windowsill once again with Neptune right next to him. "Evening all. Sorry about the wait."

"It's alright" reassured Pyrrha with a smile.

"We nearly starved!" countered Nora.

"Don't worry; we'll make sure all of you will get to eat as much as you can" the Monkey Faunus assured.

"Let's go!" the ginger cried, jumping to her feet.

"Sure. You guys have a nice open place we can go to? Outside of course."

"Well, there's the roof right above this dorm" offered Jaune, not entirely sure what Sun was getting at.

"Perfect! See you top side."

With that, the captain and lieutenant pulled themselves onto the windowsill before reaching for the top of the window, and pulling themselves higher to continue their climb to the roof. As Sun climbed, the others noticed his prehensile tail was wrapped around the handle of a cooler, carefully carrying it with him. Following right behind the two were Sage and Scarlet, which it was now apparent were carrying large backpacks, but didn't appear to be all that encumbered as they followed their friends to the roof.

"We have things called stairs, ya know!" called Ruby, curiously pointing out Team SSSN's disregard for using the front door.

"Do you have any idea what they're doing?" asked Yang.

"No clue" replied Blake. "But I guess we'll find out."

The Beaconites all rose to their feet, and walked out of the dorm room, making their way to the stairs that led to the roof. When they arrived, they opened the door to see Team SSSN crouching on the ground, and setting up four separate portable barrel charcoal barbecues.

"What are you doing?" asked the younger Xiao Long.

"What does it look like? We're barbecuing" replied Sun, matter-of-factly.

"But why?"

"Well, after having eaten at that barbecue place, me and the boys decided that we weren't exactly satisfied with it, and we came to the conclusion that to celebrate the end of the tournament properly, we would show you all what a _real_ barbecue is" he explained with a grin. "And the best way to do that, is for us to do it ourselves. Plus it's summer; you've gotta barbecue at least once a week in the summer."

"It's why we took longer than expected" continued Neptune, smiling apologetically. "We needed to grab all the essentials."

"Which are?" asked Yang curiously.

"Something that was greatly missing from the Beacon Dance" said Sun, before gesturing to Sage with his left hand. The equally bare-chested Vacuan opened the large cooler he had been carrying, revealing it was filled to the brim with ice, mixed with beer bottles and soda cans.

"Nice!" cheered the blonde, giving Team SSSN a thumbs up.

"We come prepared" Sun grinned. "We got a wide selection of meat and veg, and even some stuff for dessert. Also, I made sure to get something special for Blake."

The Cat Faunus blinked at him, not sure what he meant, as he nodded at Neptune who opened his cooler, displaying a fine assortment of fresh fish. Blake's eyes lit up like fireflies as her mouth instantly watered at the prospect of grilled seafood. Her reaction caused Sun's grin to widen, and cracked his fingers in anticipation.

"Right! Let's get to work, boys! If any of you want to give as a hand, you're more than welcome" he added.

"I think I just might" said Ren with a smirk. "One moment." He then turned for the door and left to procure his affaires.

"So what do we do in the meantime?" asked Jaune.

"Get everything we're missing: paper plates, cups, utensils, chairs, stuff like that."

"On it. Let's go!" cheered Nora, dashing for the door, joined by the others.

It didn't take the Beaconites long to return with all they would need for the celebratory barbecue. They had set up several chairs around a small folding table where the cooler full of beverages was appropriately placed. A couple of large beanbag chairs had been acquired as well, which no doubt would be made full use of by the couples present. Ren, having returned with what he required, was now squatting next to Sun and Neptune, helping them cook the large assortment of food they had bought. The amateur chef had brought his travel spice kit, a small treat he had gotten for himself after the completion of his first mission with Team JNPR. It was odd for him to have any form of disposable income, which was why it had taken him several weeks before making the purchase. His natural instinct was to save every Lien he earned, but after some coaxing from Nora, saying that he deserved to get himself a "little something", he finally bought it. Now with his share of the prize money transferred into his Huntsman's Treasury Account, a separate banking system handled by the academies for registered Huntsmen and Huntsmen-in-training, he was now tempted to purchase a very nice chef's knife set that came in a fine leather roll bag. He had seen it in the very shop he bought his spice kit, and it had taken him longer than he was willing to admit to pull himself away. Tempted as he was, he decided to wait a bit longer, as his education was what mattered and came first; first after Nora of course.

The trio continued to cook for their friends while fending off a starving ginger. One grill was covered in drumsticks, wings, jalapeño poppers, and a nice row of chicken kebabs. The grill beside it was cooking peppers, onions, zucchinis, eggplants, asparagus, and corn. The third was working on the pork and beef: sausages, hot dogs, short ribs, thick cuts of pork belly, with its second level loaded with a couple steaks, a full rack of ribs, and pork and beef kebabs. The last barbecue was cooking the fish Neptune had quickly cleaned, which the more squeamish members of the group did their best to avoid watching. This grill, also having two levels, appeared as if it were a small fish market, as there was a very nice variety of fishes present. Fillets of salmon, yellow fin tuna, sheepshead, and blue marlin, as well as whole blue mackerel, trout, sea bass, greater amberjack, red porgy, and sand perch.

After a solid effort by the boys, dinner was finally served. It certainly appeared that they had made enough to feed an entire company, but after such an intense tournament, a dozen growing Huntsmen-in-training could easily devour it all in a single sitting. Nora was certainly ready for such a task, which Ren did his best to get her to eat slowly. The gracious praises from the Beaconites proved that the wait had been worth it, and that Team SSSN was not kidding when they said they could make better barbecue.

"This is actually really good" praised Yang, biting into a kebab.

"It's super good!~" added Nora with her mouth full.

"Told you" grinned Sun. "There's nothing like barbecue and a cold one on a warm summer's night; or whatever you call this weather. We would have made you a Vacuan delicacy, mole crab, but we couldn't find any here. Then again, even if we did, it would have cost and arm and a leg. Anyways, how's the fish, ladies?"

"It's not the usual way I enjoy my fish, baked cod, fish stew, and of the like, but it is very good" complimented Weiss, breaking a piece of marlin with her fork. Blake on the other hand, was over the moon. She was sampling the entire market, and looked happier than she had ever been; her bow twitching with joy.

"It's fantastic" she sighed happily. "You did a great job."

"As much as I would love to accept your praise, Neptune deserves all the credit" the Vacuan Faunus remarked, gesturing to his lieutenant with his thumb.

"Really?"

Neptune shrugged. "I may be scared of water, but I'm still a fisherman's son, and I still love fish. So, I know a few things. If I had more time, I would have also made some stuffed squid; it's one of my favourites."

Blake nodded in admiration, and turned to the Schnee heiress.

"You have my approval to date him" she said.

"Oh thank the Gods" Weiss replied, rolling her eyes. "I did not think I could go another day without receiving your blessing."

While she was being very sarcastic, there was still a bit of warmness that grew in her heart from having her normally somber friend approve of Neptune. She admittedly cared more for her friends' opinions than most of her family's, and they being positive, Blake's especially, was a good thing indeed.

"In all seriousness, this is officially the best barbecue I've ever had" Blake complimented, getting proud grins from both Sun and Neptune.

"Yes, o- _fish_ -ally the best barbecue ever" punned Yang, causing everyone to groan safe for Blake.

"I'll let that one slide" she said.

"Don't you mean, _swim away_?"

"I take it back."

"But Blake, why?!"

"You know _exactly_ why."

Yang whined like a sad puppy as her one chance at her friend approving a pun was snatched from her, causing the others to laugh at her expense.

After the main course had been graciously consumed, it was time for the dessert. Grilled peaches, pineapples, and bananas on a bed of ice-cream were enjoyed by all, though it would not be summer without a classic. With a stack of gram crackers, and a potentially unhealthy amount of marshmallows and chocolate from Ruby's personal stash, they began to make s'mores. This led wonderfully into a myriad of after meal activities. They began to swap stories of their homelands, funny or otherwise interesting adventures they had personally gone on, and as many jokes as they could think of. The alcohol being consumed only livened things, which was no doubt the very reason why they had bothered to bring so much of it.

On one of the procured beanbags sat Jaune and Pyrrha comfortably. Jaune had his right arm around her as she rested her head and right hand on his chest, cuddling sweetly. In front of them sat Yang and Ruby; the blonde enjoying her beer, while her sister was helping herself to a soda, as she had no interest in the alcohol, and Weiss and Blake wouldn't let her have any.

"Now this is what secondary education is all about!" cheered Yang, taking a sip from her bottle. "Drinking, partying, meeting cute boys..." her eyes scanned the roof. "Alright, I'm not doing so hot on that last one, but two out of three means I'm in the black."

"I managed to find a cute boy" commented the redhead, smirking proudly.

"Yes, well, to each their own" the blonde muttered into her beer bottle, eyeing the cute couple with vexation. It wasn't that Yang was so dismissive of Jaune due to her lack of attraction, but rather was annoyed that they were so lovey-dovey while she was still single. Furthermore, their inhuman level of self-restraint boggled her mind, which she knew she would have to get a full breakdown from them sooner or later. "Speaking of which, did you two finally go and make out after running off like newlyweds?"

The couple blushed at her question, but answered it without hesitation.

"No, we'll be waiting for our date before doing anything like that" replied Jaune.

"And when will that be?"

"Yes, when will that be?" echoed Pyrrha, looking up with a hint of excitement in her eyes.

"The day after tomorrow" the blond swordsman answered curtly. "I made a special reservation at a local restaurant that we'll go to for dinner after we catch a movie. I'm kinda surprised that I managed to get it, given it was day one of the tournament. Then again, I guess it's _because_ of the timing I got it."

"Is that why you were running late that morning after getting your armour?" Pyrrha asked in realization.

"Yeah. Just wanted to do it right, ya know?"

Pyrrha smiled brightly at him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Yes I know. I can't wait."

Yang eyed them irritably for a moment, before carrying on with another question.

"So what are you going to do with your winnings?"

"Not sure yet. What about you?" Jaune replied.

"Thanks to the pot bonus, I can actually get that upgrade kit for my bike" Yang said grinning. "I'm looking forward to breaking some of my previous established land speed records."

"Please be careful" warned Ruby. "You remember how badly you crashed the last time? You broke your arm."

"I _fractured_ my arm. And I walked it off pretty well" her sister corrected with a hand wave. "Plus, with the better traction I'll be getting from my new tires, I won't be crashing any time soon." The younger Xiao Long looked at her with complete disbelief, causing Jaune and Pyrrha to smile at their sibling antics. "And you, champ?"

"I plan on donating it to the local Starseeker chapter. I have enough money saved from my Mistralese combat circuit days to live comfortably, in conjunction with the money that I will make as a Huntress. I was putting money aside so that my mother could take things easier and perhaps even retire sooner than planned, given that she is still working. Granted, she adores her career so much that she might never retire. In any event, I consider Jaune to be my real prize" she explained, a tad more honestly than usual, possibly due to the beer.

This obviously did not go unnoticed by Jaune, as it went straight to his ego, but it caught the attention of Yang as well, causing her to raise an eyebrow.

"So if that's the case, does that mean that the _real_ prize is you making him go down on you or something tonight?"

The couple's faces flushed deeply, as did Ruby's, who was now choking on her cherry soda.

"N-No!" gasped Pyrrha, clutching onto Jaune. "If we haven't even kissed yet, then why would we do _that_? Honestly, why does everything have to be so sexual with you?"

"Hey, if I was made to wait for so long, I'd be _demanding_ my man to. And don't give me that look, Arc! You're nowhere near as pure as her, so don't pretend that you _haven't_ been thinking about it. If you were in her boots, you'd want a celebratory blowjob."

"We really shouldn't be talking about this stuff with kids present" deflected Jaune referring to Ruby, doing his best to suppress some rather erotic images from materializing in his mind.

"We're all underage here, technically, so what's the issue? Plus, she's heard worse."

"It's not like I had a choice" groaned the red-hooded captain, not comfortable in the least in discussing such topics. "Whenever you would have sleepovers with your friends from Signal, you'd make me hang out, and you'd always bring up that stuff."

"One day" Yang sighed hopefully, rubbing her little sister's head affectionately.

To save the embarrassed Huntsmen-in-training from dying from Yang's dirty mind, Ren had decided to join them, seating himself on a borrowed cushion beside the aforementioned pervert.

"You took your time" Jaune remarked.

"Sorry, I was exchanging recipes with Neptune" Ren explained, holding up a small notepad before putting it away in his jacket pocket. "These will be very interesting to try, though some I will not make. They eat strange things in Vacuo."

"Such as?" asked Pyrrha.

"Bats and cave beetles."

The other four leaned back in shock, as neither ingredient would ever be considered edible to any of them. Just then, a large collection of cheers erupted from the other side of the roof, causing them to turn and look. Team SSSN, along with Nora, appeared to be in the middle of a drinking game, with Blake and Weiss spectating. Jaune then noticed that his friend had a worried look on his face, with his eyes fixated on the laughing ginger.

"You OK, man?" he asked.

Ren looked back at him and shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm...fine" he replied, clearly not. "I'm just a bit worried about Nora."

"Is something wrong?" asked Pyrrha.

"Well...no...but she's taking part in their drinking game and...she's never had alcohol before. I'm just worried that she might over do it."

"We're all friends here. We'll stop her if she goes overboard" reassured Yang. "Though, she can really knock'em back. You sure this is her first time having booze?"

"Absolutely."

Yang laughed. "She's really becoming my favourite person. I need to take her drinking with me next time I go clubbing." Ruby then held out her hand, causing her sister to look at it in confusion, then up at her. "What?"

"Give me your keys" she instructed.

"I'd never ride drunk, Ruby!"

"I know, but I'm a lot more scared of dad than I am of you, so better to be safe than sorry."

"I love how the younger sister is the more responsible child" remarked Jaune with a grin, sipping his beer.

"Brat" Yang squinted, earning herself a raspberry from Ruby. It was then that a series of girlish giggles caught their attention, just to see a rosy-cheeked Nora walk over and plop herself on the pillow next to Ren. "Well someone looks happy. How did it go?"

"I wooon!~ Hee hee!~" the ginger giggle, smiling from ear to ear.

"What did you win?" asked Pyrrha.

"The drinking game. I beat Sun who's supposed to be the best drinker on Team SSSN, so I'm just that good."

"Don't get too full of yourself, Valkyrie" interjected Yang. "I ate too much to join in, but you'll have to face me before claiming you're the best drinker here."

"Any time!~" Nora replied eagerly, leaning onto Ren.

"I recommend we have some _real_ fun and play 'Never Have I Ever'. We can have our one-on-one, but next time we're all together, we _need_ to play that one."

"I don't know what that is, but I'm all for it!~"

Nora was genuinely unaware of the most notorious drinking game that roamed college campuses the world over. Huntsmen academies were no different, and while neither she nor Ren knew of it, the sober of the pair noticed the face Ruby made at its mention, and he made a mental note to be wary of such a game.

As the others began to talk, Nora became fixated on something else. She squinted at her friends cuddling comfortably on the beanbag, and she suddenly was overtaken by the desire to know if they were as comfortable as they looked. Her eyes bounced between them and Ren, as the little gears in her head, well lubricated with several different types of beer, began to turn. The shyness and fear that gripped her when having the thoughts she was currently having, were heavily dampened by the cheeriness brought about by her first experience with alcohol. A single desire began to grow in her chest, one that she wished for but could never act on, and usually turned it into something else. Now however, she had no plans on holding back. Without any warning, she wrapped her arms around Ren's midsection, and tightly hugged him, burying her face in his chest. This caused the others to look at her in surprise, though none of them were as surprised as Ren himself.

"Well now, this is an interesting development" smirked Yang. "So! You two _AREN'T_ dating, _right_?~"

"N-No" swallowed Ren, his cheeks flushed. "N-Nora is just a very huggable person." While this was true, no one was inclined to believe that was the explanation to her sudden embrace. This was confirmed with what Nora said next.

"Mmmm...Renny you smell good" she moaned, snuggling further into his chest. Ren's entire face turned red, swallowing audibly, as this was unventured territory.

Jaune, Pyrrha, and Yang's faces also lit up, but for obviously different reasons, and excited smiles spread across their faces. Ruby's expression was much more subdued, but was equally happy, as even she thought the pair made a cute couple, and wondered why they weren't together already.

" _Suuuuure_. Nothing going on here" Yang remarked, before leaning in so that she was level with Nora. "Nora~, did you get jealous of Jaune and Pyrrha, and wanted to squeeze your Renny?"

Ren's heart was now beating like a spastic on a war drum, nearly afraid of what the ginger would say given her level of intoxication. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on where one stood, the only sound Nora made was an ever so gentle snore, as she had made herself very comfortable, and drifted off to sleep.

"Awe, she's all tuckered out."

"I-I'll take her to bed" managed Ren, wanting to get away from the situation, but also wanted to make sure that his now vulnerable partner was safe. He slipped his left hand under Nora's knees and his right hand on her back, and picked her up with less difficulty than he thought he would.

"I'm sure you will" remarked Yang with a mischievous grin, only causing Ren to be even more uncomfortable.

"C-Can someone open the door, please?"

Ruby, being the quickest and the most sober, got to her feet and walked with the flustered cook to the door to the roof, and opened it for him.

"Ya know, I didn't think there could be a couple worse than you two, but they've got you beaten in spades" Yang said with a hint of admiration in her voice.

"What do you mean?" asked Jaune.

"It was obvious as fuck Pyrrha was into you, and it took you till the Dance to figure it out. Those two are clearly in love with one another, but they haven't pulled the trigger. I don't get it" she expressed, downing the rest of her beer.

"What? Those two aren't together?" asked Sun in shock, putting the beer cooler down beside Jaune and Pyrrha's beanbag chair, before jumping over and sitting in front of it. "You've got to be shitting me."

"No, she's not" Blake confirmed, sitting beside him. Yang then noticed that the girl no longer had her ears tied with a bow.

"It is a rather maddening situation" added Weiss, joining the group with Neptune.

"They have... _things_ to work out" said Pyrrha, looking up at Jaune, who took an uncomfortable sip of his beer.

"Such as?" asked Neptune.

Everyone's attention had now shifted to the blond captain of Team JNPR, which caused his sip to turn into a downing, until the redhead cuddling him tapped his chest. He removed the bottle with a recognizable hollow chime, and licked his lips before speaking at last.

"We've talked about it–and I'm not gonna share what we talked about in private. I respect Ren too much to just start spilling my guts" he defended.

"Yeah, but is he into her?" pushed Sun.

"Are you into Blake?"

"Then what is he waiting for?" the Monkey Faunus demanded, eyebrows raised. "Or her for that matter?"

"Reasons" Jaune and Pyrrha said in unison, showing they understood the situation best, and that the details were private.

"And we're back where we started" Yang groaned, rolling her eyes. "All this beating around the bush makes me thirsty for another beer. Pass me one will ya, Blake?"

The Cat Faunus nodded and turned around to open the cooler, as something caught the eye of the Vacuan captain. This seized Yang's attention, and an amused smirk spread on her face; a twinkle of mischief in her eye.

"Stop staring at Blake's ass, Sun!" she teased.

"What? I'm not" he defended calmly, his eyes darting to Yang then back to Blake.

" _Suuuure_."

"I'm not! I'm looking at this" Sun doubled down, reaching at something on Blake's person and pulled. In his hand was a long black tail that had been tucked into the girl's clothes. Blake, who had frozen in embarrassment at Yang's accusation, now knelt up right as she felt Sun's grip.

"You have a tail?" Weiss said surprised.

"Of-Of course I do!" Blake shot, almost offended, as she hastily handed her teammate her beer with cheeks turned pink. "I couldn't go walking around with a tail hanging out while pretending to be Human, could I?"

"Fair enough. I'm just glad you're finally all here now" Yang said honestly, popping the top off the bottle with her thumb.

"Same. You're a lot prettier without the bow" added Sun with a roguish grin, causing Blake to blush further.

"I think the bow is cute, but maybe now you can put it on your tail" offered Ruby.

"Ha! That's something kids do" Blake remarked, actually laughing at the notion. "I used to do that when I was a kid. One time I even put as many as I could so when I ran, I looked like a kite."

"Oh that's adorable. Please tell me you've got a photo of that somewhere" Yang hoped with a laugh.

"Uh, probably in an album at home" Blake replied, though she had no intention to rush and retrieve a copy of it.

The young Huntsmen-in-training began to carry on with their conversations, eager to share more stories. However, one of them was distracted by a thought that had slowly grown over the course of the past few minutes.

'Where's Ren?' Jaune mused, realizing that his friend had been gone for far longer than he assumed he would have. What could be keeping him?

λΛλ

When Ren had left with Nora, he carefully made his way back to their dorms. He would have had trouble opening the door to Pyrrha and Nora's room, if the ginger hadn't maintained her grip on him. He opened the door with his right hand, and flipped the light switch with his elbow, illuminating the neat dorm room. Well, neat safe for the bed to the right which wasn't properly made, giving Ren the accurate assumption that it belonged to Nora. He of course knew which it was since the start of the school year, but it was nevertheless a stark difference to how Pyrrha kept her half of the room. He walked over to the bed and gently laid Nora onto it, making sure that her head was properly resting on the pillow. This was a more difficult task than he assumed, as she had attached herself to his right side, and given that her bed was against the right wall of the dorm, he had to climb onto her bed. Unfortunately, he quickly realized that the task had only grown in difficulty, as she hadn't lessened her grasp on him, and he was now unsure if he could even free himself.

"Nora?" he whispered, not wanting to disturb her, but knowing that he needed to wake her in order to leave, as he was nowhere near strong enough to break her grip. "Nora, you need to let go."

The girl only moaned softly in her sleep, showing that it would take much more to rouse her from her slumber. Ren tried to shake her gently, and when that failed, decided to try and pull himself free; again, gently. This had the opposite effect, as Nora's grip tightened, not wanting to lose what she had wanted for so long. Ren swallowed, now knowing that he wasn't going anywhere, which left him with the realization that he would have to sleep, or at least lay beside her, until her grasp finally loosened. The current issue with that plan was that he was now pressed up against the wall of the dorm, and it was far from comfortable. Perhaps if he was careful, he could roll over without hurting or disturbing her. Seeing no other option, Ren put his plan into motion, and slowly rolled himself and Nora so that he could lay beside her with some level of comfort.

It then made itself apparent that Ren had not entirely thought through his plan, as while he had succeeded in lying on his side next to her, the sleeping ginger was now resting on top of his chest, pressing her body onto him. To make matters worse, or better, depending on one's point of view, Nora moaned happily in her sleep, finding this new sleeping position preferable, and nuzzled her pillow contently. Ren on the other hand, could feel his heart pound in his chest, which was a large contrast to her slow and steady breathing. He then became aware of the scent of strawberry pound cake, which after a couple of moments he realized was coming from her hair. Was that her shampoo? He didn't know they made such a product, but despite his situation, he could not stop a smirk on his face from growing, for _of course_ Nora would buy a shampoo that smelled like cake.

That moment of comedy allowed the raven-haired boy to calm himself somewhat, and also noticed how the girl sleeping beside him was ever so gently snoring. Had she always done that? And if she did, when did it become so cute? He examined the peaceful expression on Nora's face as she slept, and felt a warmth in his chest that he couldn't describe.

For a long time after they had left Kuroyuri, Nora had been plagued with nightmares. On many nights, when Ren would keep first watch so that they wouldn't be caught sleeping in a farmer's barn or somewhere else they weren't welcome, he would see her begin to toss and turn in her sleep, a painful expression of fear on her face. He had tried speaking to her about it, but she would dismiss it, saying that they were nothing but bad dreams and would stop eventually. Of course, they hadn't, and Ren knew she was trying to act brave as to not worry him. But worry he did, and during one night, where the nightmare was so terrifying that he could see tears falling down her cheeks, glistening in the moonlight, Ren decided to take action. He placed his hand on her forehead and activated his Semblance. After a few seconds, Nora had stopped crying and laid still, her heavy breathing slowing into a deep and steady rhythm. This would be a near nightly ritual for Ren, more grateful than ever that his abilities could be useful in making her feel safe, even if he wasn't physically strong enough to defend her on his own. He carried on bringing her turbulent mind at ease for months, until slowly but surely, her nightmares began to subside on their own, granting Nora more restful sleep, a much brighter smile, and a great deal of peace of mind for Ren.

Reminiscing of the past brought about a mix of emotions for him. Firstly, it brought out a sense of accomplishment, as nearly a decade of struggle and toil had finally carried them to their goal of becoming Huntsmen. Nearly a year had passed since they entered Beacon, and were now students with friends who cherished them. It was more than either of them could have wished for. And secondly, it brought out the painful realization that they were no longer children. Ten years had indeed gone by, with so much having changed since they were young, and how much they had grown. Their life experiences had forced them to grow up far faster than anyone else their age, but it nevertheless blew his mind that a decade had passed them by.

The growth that was currently blowing his mind was Nora's, as Ren just realized that with the way she was sleeping on him, he had a clear view of her cleavage. His heart leapt into his throat, and it took a rather forceful swallow to push it back down. How could things go from zero to ten so quickly? First he had his breath taken away by seeing her in a dress for the first time at the Beacon Dance, then it was the playful teasing from his friends about them being a couple, then there was Nora drunkenly hugging him and saying he smelled good, and now he was in her bed cuddling with a stunning view down her top. Not knowing what else to do, Ren decided to activate Tranquility to calm himself, albeit a rather unorthodox utilization of it. Humorously it did work, and after a few moments deactivated it, returning his gaze to the dozing ginger who was none the wiser; which was certainly a good thing as his eyes unfortunately dropped again to her cleavage.

He kicked himself mentally, as it felt so inappropriate to look while she was sleeping. He felt bad enough for constantly sneaking glances at her legs as it was, so ogling at her breasts was even worse. He obviously knew that he couldn't simply use his Semblance continuously in this situation, thus he needed to focus and try to get some sleep. It hadn't been the first time they had slept like this; they had done it rather regularly when they were younger. Of course, when puberty set in, they naturally and without discussion, stopped cuddling together. And now, as young adults, those reasons were even more apparent. They weren't dating, thus being in her bed like this felt inappropriate, despite the conversations he previously had with Jaune that she had feelings for him. He still felt undeserving of her affection, not until he sharpened his skills and closed the distance between their strength levels.

Ren sighed through his nose, knowing that he would be up all night if he continued to wrestle with these thoughts unabated. But what could he do?

"Ren..." Nora suddenly mumbled softly, which the Huntsman-in-training felt more than heard. His heart jumped right back into his throat, fearing that something less that desirable was going to occur. The ginger shifted her sleeping position slightly, nuzzling his chest again like a tired kitten. "...s'more pancakes please...and syrup..."

Nearly instantaneously, the lump in his throat dissolved, and he now needed to fight the urge to laugh. Even after eating enough for three, plus dessert, and nearing two liters of beer, she was still dreaming of food. He gazed at her warmly, as her adorable and peaceful expression soothed him even more effectively than Tranquility did.

"As much as you like" he said softly, letting his head sink into the pillow, but maintained his loving gaze, so that she would be the last thing he would see before drifting off to sleep. She very much was, and the couple had the best night's sleep they had ever had.

λΛλ

Things had slowly wound down on the roof. Sage and Scarlet were in the process of dousing the barbecues so that they could be cleaned, as they had drawn the short straws. The second beanbag was being occupied by Sun and Blake, who were now cuddling in the same manner as Jaune and Pyrrha. Blake was sound asleep, curled comfortably against the other Faunus as he gently stroked her hair, gazing at her with just as gentle of an expression. The others were still sitting together, where Weiss was now watching the Faunus couple with a tender look in her eyes, smiling a small but content smile.

"Look at those two" she remarked, causing the others to shift their attention to the couple.

"Pretty cute, aren't they?" Neptune complimented.

"I've never seen her so at peace; even in her sleep" the heiress continued, the tone in her voice showing her concern and relief for her friend. "I knew that she liked him far more than she was letting on."

"Oh Hell yeah" Yang added. "You just realized that?"

"Well no, but she's more reserved than I am" countered Weiss, before shifting her gaze to Sun. "And Sun...he really loves her, doesn't he?"

"Yup" smirked Neptune proudly. "He can't stop talking about her, bragging about her, trying to make her laugh and smile. I've never seen him so head over heels before. He normally never pays the girls that fawn over him more than a wink or a nod; for Blake, he's gone all out."

"Wait, is Blake Sun's first girlfriend?" Yang asked in bewilderment.

"As far as I know" the blue-haired lieutenant informed. "And I've known him since we were eleven so..."

"Whoa..." the blonde breathed, with her teammates having the same expression on their faces.

"I believe we may have misjudged Sun's integrity" Pyrrha commented, though a pleased smile grew from learning of the Monkey Faunus' restraint, already noticing it throughout the tournament.

"I was already gonna kick her ass if she wasn't going to pull the trigger, but _now_!" Yang took a swing of her beer and sighed in annoyance. "She's been a bundle of nerves ever since the White Fang's been getting hardcore; well, more hardcore than usual. I had to convince her to come to the Dance and go out with Sun, so she could enjoy herself and relax. I had a feeling in my gut, and it turns out I was 100% right; he was _exactly_ what she needed."

The others smiled in agreement, as Weiss looked at her Scroll and gasped when she noticed the time.

"Good Gods, it's already two in the morning!"

"The night is still young" grinned the blonde.

"We probably should call it a night" Jaune remarked, cracking his neck.

"We're out of food, out of beer, and full of memories; sounds like a good place to wrap up if you ask me" added Neptune.

"Fine; bunch of quitters" the elder Xiao Long whined, rolling her eyes. "Speaking of which, I'm surprised how many you put away, Weiss."

"I can handle my alcohol just fine" replied the Atlassian matter-of-factly. "In fact, I rather enjoy beer, and I have a list of favourites from home. If we manage to find any of them here, I would be more than happy to share."

"No offence Weiss, but I always thought rich people drink wine and stuff" commented Ruby.

"Well...yes however..." she paused, an unpleasant memory flickered in her mind "I'm just not that fond of wine."

"Fair enough" said Yang rising to her feet, joined by her sister. "Gentlemen, that was truly the best barbecue I've ever had. You guys know how to party."

"Oh you haven't seen nothing yet" Sun replied, though careful not to speak too loudly. "Things get far wilder in Vacuo. You'll have to see it to believe it."

"Alright, you've talked me into visiting" she grinned, stretching.

The students quickly cleaned the rooftop, making sure that it looked as good as they found it. The trash was tossed in garbage bags separated from what could be recycled, and the Beaconites began to bring the furniture inside. Sun picked up Blake bridal style, carrying her to her room, and carefully laid her on her bed, not wanting to wake her. Team SSSN then finished packing up their gear, said their goodbyes, and headed back to their lodging, as Team RWBY joined Blake and got ready for bed. Jaune and Pyrrha were outside of their rooms, holding each other in a tight hug, not wanting the night to end.

"I could really get used to this" Jaune admitted.

"Me too" Pyrrha giggled, smiling more brightly than ever. "You make a very comfortable pillow. I fully understand why Nora got so jealous."

Jaune chuckled. "I'm gonna tease Ren about that if he's still up."

"It might be a bit late for that, but I won't stop you."

The blond leaned back so he could look at the redhead and smirked.

"You're going to tease Nora about this too, aren't you?"

Pyrrha's eyes darted to the left and she lightly bit her bottom lip.

"No..."

"You're such a terrible liar" he laughed, and kissed her on the cheek.

"I'm sorry" she laughed. "We'll talk more about our date tomorrow, right?"

"Of course."

"Alright. Good night" Pyrrha said with reluctance, kissing him on the cheek.

"Night."

The couple finally broke apart and opened the doors to their respective rooms. Jaune entered and closed the door behind him, whereas Pyrrha found a surprise waiting for her. In Nora's bed was the ginger sleeping with Ren, which answered her question as to where the raven-haired boy had been all this time. They appeared so peaceful as they slept, very much like Sun and Blake had been, and she didn't have the heart to wake either of them. As quietly as she could, Pyrrha exited her room, and walked over to Jaune's, knocking on the door gently. It only took a moment or two for him to answer, and was slightly puzzled as to why she had already returned.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Um..." Pyrrha began, trying not to laugh at the situation. "Ren isn't with you, is he?"

Jaune blinked in mild surprise. "Yeah he isn't. I was just about to text him."

"There's no need. I found him in bed with Nora in our room" she explained, but quickly gave him more context as the blond's eyes became the size of dinner plates. "N-No! Not like that. From what I can gather, Nora's hug was far stronger than Ren thought, and he wasn't able to free himself, which certainly explains why he didn't return to the party."

Jaune nodded, now understanding the circumstances, and began to laugh through his nose.

"Oh I'm not gonna hold back teasing him tomorrow" he remarked, getting a giggle from Pyrrha.

"I have no doubts" she smiled, before giving him a more nervous look. "I don't want to wake them, so..." her eyes descended in shyness as her cheeks began to turn red, "w-would it be alright if I spent the night with you?"

Jaune felt his face become hot, and only increased in temperature when her large emerald eyes met his azure, causing him to swallow.

"Y-Yeah, of course" he replied nervously.

"A-Alright, I'll just get my pyjamas" Pyrrha informed. "I'll be right back." Jaune nodded and watched her go, before finally closing the door.

'FUUUUUUCK!' he shouted in his mind, very much not prepared for this. He quickly began to look around his room, becoming overly critical of its state of cleanliness. After brushing his teeth, he began to try and make it as proper as he could.

His heart soared into his throat when he heard another knock on the door, and tried to calm himself as he opened it. Pyrrha, equally nervous, entered his room, holding her brown pyjamas to her chest.

"May I use your bathroom to change?" she asked timidly.

"O-Of course" Jaune replied, unable to hide his bashfulness. "I'll change out here in the meantime."

The redhead nodded and walked to the bathroom, closing the door quietly behind her, allowing the blond to face palm in embarrassment.

'All I have is my full-body PJs!' he mentally groaned. 'It's the dorkiest thing ever. I can't just sleep next to her in my boxers, though. Shit, how do I not have even a spare t-shirt to wear?'

Knowing that he didn't have the luxury of complaining, as Pyrrha would come out of the bathroom at any moment, he quickly peeled off his clothes and threw on his pyjamas. He caught himself in the full length mirror, and frowned at his reflection in shame. Here he was, trying to grow up and be a man, and yet, he stood in an oversized onesie that made him look like a baby. It tended to be colder where he was from, so it was natural to own long johns and other forms of thicker pyjamas, not to mention that he didn't exactly have the time to properly pack for his trip to Albion. He now knew exactly what he was going to spend a portion of his winnings on; a new and less embarrassing wardrobe. His head quickly snapped to the right as he heard the bathroom door slowly creak open.

"A-Are you dressed?" Pyrrha asked timidly.

"Y-Yeah" he replied, his heart racing.

Pyrrha opened the door fully, revealing herself in her brown two-piece pyjamas, and her long red hair let down. Jaune felt his heart beat even faster, and he hadn't expected her to look so cute. It was the first time he had seen her with her hair down, and while it was a tad odd, he couldn't lie and say she didn't look beautiful. Pyrrha noticed his gaze, and shyly moved some of her hair behind her ear.

"I'm sorry that they aren't the cute type of pyjamas" she apologized, as she too did not own a more fashionable pair of nightwear.

"You look great" the swordsman confessed. "They look really cute on you–I mean, you look great in anything but yeah, super cute so don't worry."

His praise wasn't nearly as suave as he wanted, but it was entirely honest, which Pyrrha fully realized, and smiled coyly as her cheeks reddened.

"Thank you, Jaune" she replied. "Yours are cute as well."

"Y-You don't have to pretend to like them..." he said quietly, rubbing the back of his head.

"...I thought you were cute in them when I first saw you that night before we became a team" Pyrrha confessed softly. Her words caused her captain's heart to skip a beat, learning that she had been checking him out since then.

"Th-Thanks" he managed, swallowing. "S-So um...I guess you can use Ren's bed. I doubt he'd mind."

Pyrrha felt her heart drop slightly, as she had been hoping for some other arrangement. Perhaps the effect of the alcohol hadn't yet worn off, for she decided to make it known to the blond that she had different plans.

"Actually, I thought that maybe we could share yours..." Her eyes met Jaune's, and a bit of pride flickered in her heart when she saw the suggestion caused his eyes to widen. "...unless you don't want to."

"I-I do!" he replied, more quickly and loudly than he planned, which he kicked himself mentally, for as it made him seem eager for something that he knew was too early for them to take part in. "I mean, cuddling to sleep with you is something I've wanted to do for a while."

He kicked himself again for being too honest, but quickly felt much better when he saw Pyrrha give him the coquettish smile he brought out of her when they flirted during their private training sessions.

"Me too" she said. "It's something else I'd like to get used to."

Jaune's ego got another boost, and he wasn't able to stop himself from grinning.

"Same here."

The blond could have sworn that Pyrrha's eyes just twinkled, but he wasn't able to get a long enough look to know for certain, as she turned to place her clothes and other effects on the dresser. What Jaune did have a chance to examine was the young Huntress-in-training's rear, which while the pyjamas were long and concealed nearly all of her body, they were rather tight in that particular region. It was far more curvaceous than he had thought, though it had by that point been left entirely to the imagination, as her clothing did not compliment it as much as it did her legs. Immediately he kicked himself again, realizing what he was doing.

'Now is _really_ not the time' he warned. 'These damn PJs are too tight to take risks!'

He managed to recover just as Pyrrha turned to face him.

"S-So. Which side do you prefer?" he asked, not knowing how to exactly go about all of this.

"I'm fine with either" she replied, noticing that he was shyer than she was; which only made him cuter.

"R-Right" he said, and pulled the covers back, getting into bed and laid on his ride side so that his back was too the wall and facing her. Not being able to think of anything to say, he asked "Care to join me?"

Pyrrha felt her heart flutter when he said that, but managed to remain composed, and without speaking, shut the lights before entering his bed, pulling the covers over them. They stared at one other in silence, unsure of what to do next. It was the simplest thing to everyone else; however, as they had no experience of any kind, they were overthinking every action. Jaune was wrestling with it especially harshly, as he now felt that the ball was in his court.

'C'mon, you're the man here. Be one and take charge' he ordered himself, and swallowed the lump forming in his throat before speaking. "Can we cuddle like we did at the party?" he asked.

When she nodded, Jaune wrapped his right arm around her, and pulled her close, instantly feeling the warmth and shape of her body against his. The scent of her hair, a mixture of cinnamon and pepper that was even more intoxicating than any of the beer he had consumed, filled his nostrils, and made his heart beat strongly once again. Pyrrha instinctively rested her head and hand on his chest, and could both hear and feel his rapid heartbeat. It caused her to smile, as knowing she had this level of affect on him was a rather humbling compliment as a woman. She sighed in a relaxed manner, as this new sleeping arrangement, was even more comfortable than it had been at the party.

"I can very much get used to this" she admitted, causing Jaune to quickly laugh.

"Damn right" he replied, feeling himself relax at last. "Maybe we should swap dorms, since it looks like Ren and Nora want to get used to it too."

"That goes against school policy" Pyrrha informed, before a small mischievous smile emerged from her lips. "...pervert."

"H-Hey!" he began, ready to defend himself, but quickly realized he had been baited, as the redhead began to giggle.

"I'm sure we'll have time to discuss it in future" she said before kissing him on the cheek. "Goodnight, Jaune."

"Goodnight, Pyrrha" the blond replied, squeezing her with his arm, and causing her to melt into him.

It wouldn't take long for either of them to fall asleep given how comfortable they were, and they certainly would have, when after a minute or so of silence, it was broken.

"Jaune..." Pyrrha said softly. "Are you awake?"

"I can't fall asleep that fast, even after training with you" he chuckled. "What's up?"

She remained quiet for a few moments before responding, causing the blond to begin to worry for what she had to say.

"...I'm sorry."

Jaune blinked at this, and he looked down at her, but wasn't able to see the face she was making. He wished he could, as her eyes were always the best way to see her true intentions, though the tone of her voice was enough to give reason to worry.

"About what?"

"Keeping things secret from you, making you worry like I have, hurting you by throwing you against the wall...I'm so sorry..." she apologized in a small voice, clutching onto his pyjamas. "You spoke of honesty and trust, things that I value greatly, and I've failed entirely in keeping to my own principles. There's no excuse for it. I'm sorry..."

"Pyrrha..." Jaune gasped softly, pulling her closer with his hand grasping her shoulder. "You don't need to apologize for that; you did it already."

"But it isn't enough" she countered, refusing to look up at him. "You said so yourself that it was killing you to see me as I was, and no doubt it made you feel helpless and stressed. If the roles were reversed, I would have felt even more depressed than I did waiting for you to notice my feelings–"

"Pyrrha" Jaune cut in strongly, sitting up and causing her to look at him. "Yes, it drove me nuts seeing you so worried and glum, and yes, I hated not being able to help you, but _you_ already apologized, and promised to tell me the truth. Don't tell me now" he said quickly, seeing her lips open, "it's really important right? What you've been dealing with?"

"...Yes" she replied slowly, looking deep into his serious but gentle azure eyes.

"And you will tell me, right?"

"Yes. There are a number of things that I need to address and take care of, but I vow to the Gods that I will–"

"Then" the blond said with a smile, silencing her with a finger on her lips, "I'll wait patiently till you're ready. Like I said during the tournament, it's my time to wait. Do what you need to do, but never forget that I'm here for you, no matter what. If I can't trust you with whatever it is you're dealing with, then how are we supposed to work together, let alone date?" He moved his hand over to her left cheek and cupped it gently, pressing his forehead lightly against hers. "So please, stop apologizing, Pyrrha. There's nothing for me to forgive in the first place, but if it helps, then I forgive you completely. OK?"

Pyrrha gazed deeply into his eyes, feeling her heart beat stronger from both his tender words and touch. Part of her was certain that his understanding was due to his ignorance to the truth, but the other part of her was falling deeper in love with him due to his patience. How much he had matured these past weeks since the Dance. It continued to take her by surprise, though it was coming forth more and more often. She certainly loved it, as it not only soothed her, but showed how resourceful of a man he truly was; the man she always knew he would become. And yet, a small and selfish part of her, hoped that he would never lose all of the boyish charm she loved so much. Nonetheless, his words gave her the peace of mind she needed. She had been able to put the truth about Cinder out of her mind to enjoy her evening, but like many times before, when she tried to sleep, her doubts would return. The day would certainly come that she would be summoned by the Order, either for her to take on the holy charge of the Fall Maiden, or to be informed that she would no longer be needed as a candidate. Either way, she would petition to be allowed to tell Jaune the truth, as she would not betray her principles again.

"OK" she replied with a smile, and kissed him tenderly on the cheek. "Thank you, Jaune. I'll try not to make you wait for too much longer; by the end of the semester at most. Let's get some sleep."

"You're welcome, and I guess we should. There're some things I need to do tomorrow. Goodnight, Pyrrha" he replied, returning her kiss, though they held their gaze for a few moments more before he rested his head on his pillow.

Both secretly wanted a proper goodnight kiss, but not even the situation they were currently in, with several bottles of beer in their systems, did they wish to go against the plan. They both wanted to do this right, and if Sun of all people could be a diligent gentleman, respectfully waiting for Blake to return his courtship, then they could wait two more days.

It only took a few minutes for sleep to find the couple, and they drifted off into the most restful doze they ever had.

λΛλ

In the captain's quarters aboard the KAAS _Veðrfölnir_ , General Ironwood was still awake, going over the field reports provided by all the commanding officers involved in the defending of Vale. It was the least romanticized part of warfare; the countless pages of paperwork that were required to be filled and filed accordingly, so that everything was done in the proper manner. This of course was particularly cumbersome for the Huntmaster, who not only had to go over the same reports for Huntsmen, but also that he needed to modify what exactly went into these reports. Ironwood may be both the General of the White Army and Huntmaster of Ýdalir Academy, but he wasn't a dictator with unrestricted power. The ordering of thousands of troops and dozens of armour, aircraft, and seacraft, required proper explaining to the Council; especially given that the Council _wasn't_ contacted for the requisition of such a displacement. His peers in the Valian Army were in the same boat, and had been secretly coordinating so that all their reports matched to avoid suspicion. Of course, given that Ironwood was acting by Ozpin's orders, the Atlassian General took extra care to assure that the Order and their actions did not come to light in any official reports. This had become common place ever since the Order had been re-established, and he had become rather good at it. He only hoped that in future, the Council, past, current, and future, would not take it so personally when they were finally informed of how they had been going behind their backs for so long.

After scanning the form on his screen for the fifth time to make sure everything was in order, he saved the document before closing it, and leaned back in his chair. He shut his eyes for a moment, satisfied with his work, and contemplated on the events of the past week. Failing to capture or kill Adam Taurus was a great shame; not only for the sake of Atlas, who wanted revenge for what he and the White Fang had done, but his head would give Ironwood's actions more credence, and cause the Council to reluctantly forgive his bending of the rules; if they wanted to stand a chance at re-election. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the antique grandfather clock that sat in his quarters. It was a beautiful timepiece, with its cabinet made of a dark cherry wood, and polished brass dial, pendulum, and weights between two columns. Above the clock dial was a golden moon dial with the constellations on a blue background, just below well crafted dental work. He watched the large hand of the grandfather clock touch the six, and heard the beautiful Westminster chime fill the quiet room. It was too late to enjoy one of his favourite cigars, which was perhaps a good thing as tomorrow was going to be another long day. Sighing, Ironwood rose from his chair and began to undo his uniform as he walked to the bedroom beside his office. He would meet with his brothers to plan their interrogation of Torchwick, which he was expecting to be far more informative than their previous attempts.

At the foot of his bed slept a large Old English Sheepdog laying on its left side, paying no notice to the General moving around him. Such dogs normally had a long grey double coat, while this one had a much shorter one, clearly due to it being recently trimmed. This now allowed deep scars to be visible on the dog's right side, traveling all the way up to its head. The right ear was missing, leaving nothing to the imagination that the poor beast had been in some form of accident. Nonetheless, the scars had long since healed, indicating both the age of the animal, and its hardiness. James looked down and smirked at the old dog, one able to show such desperate need for his attention, but also pay no notice of him despite not seeing each other that entire day. He found him sleeping when he arrived to begin his paperwork, and he hadn't left his bedroom the entire evening. Chuckling to himself, he threw his uniform over his old leather wingback reading chair, and pulled back the covers.

As he lay on his bed, his eyes rested on a photograph held in a golden picture frame that sat on his bed stand. In the photo, stood a younger version of himself without any grey hair, and his right arm around a shorter ginger-haired woman. At their feet were two Sheepdog puppies, roughly six months old, sitting happily with beautiful white and black coats, which was before their usually began to turn grey. The adults had their hands on the shoulders of a little girl, who looked no older than ten, with short, rather curly ginger hair with a small ahoge on top, and had a pink bow on the back of her head. She also had bright green eyes, light skin, and freckles, all complimenting her adorable smile as she held onto the hands of the adults.

Ironwood stared at the little girl's face, his breathing becoming uneven, forcing himself to close his eyes.

'Semper fidelis...'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there are a number of things to touch on.
> 
> Firstly, you get fluff! And you get fluff! And you get fluff! All of you get fluff! Yes, I am aware that there is a great lack of pairing fluff in this story, but there is a reason for it. I've gone out of my way to build these couples properly, and it will all pay off in the end. That being said, I had a lot of fun writing this :)
> 
> In that vein, let's talk about Ren and Nora. Every time I go over and edit scenes involving these two, it makes me more and more angry as to what CRWBY did and is currently doing to them. For the record, I am not going out of my way to include these scenes out of spite. I don't watch a new episode, then write them as a response. These moments are what I've had in my mind for many years, and just wanted to bring them to life here. Take Nora drunkenly hugging Ren for example. That is a reversing of a scene from my full rewrite where Jaune and an OC get Ren drunk for him to admit his deeper feelings for Nora. I just took that scene and retooled it for this one.
> 
> Despite it being Boop fluff, as you could clearly see, I wanted to show more about their relationship, as well as their past. While I know there are issues with making sense of Ren and Nora's past, as a much easier and logical option would have been to let Ren's parents live, there is a lot you can do with the canon. I wanted to show more of what Ren truly feels for Nora, and how much he wants to protect her. The show may be trying to ruin them and their relationship, but from what I've been able to see from other fan-fics, the fans know who Ren and Nora truly are. More moments like these to come.
> 
> And now for the elephant in the room; the final scene of this chapter. I had a bit of trouble writing it, if I can be transparent. Not that I didn't know of what to write, but rather how much to reveal. I originally wanted to leave little hints, but never overtly say it. However, on redrafts, I began to realize that given it affected the story, and it's important to James' character, I decided to make it clear. So, to be unambiguous, yes; James is Penny's "father". As to why I made this change; it's simply that I interpreted that to be the case years ago when Penny mentioned her father. Of course we now know who her "father" truly is, but since I tapped at V4, I created my own canon. Also, I like having characters with similar fairy-tales interact in RWBY, so having Pinocchio be the child of the Tin Man, made me smile. It goes much further of course, but I can only show so much. Take the hints I have provided, and ponder.
> 
> And with that, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Buckle up, because things get nuts from here on out. Cheers and see you next time :)


	15. In For a Penny

The following morning was thankfully another beautiful one. The sun had already risen, and people were out and about, most likely festivalgoers on their way to enjoy breakfast at the many establishments working hard to accommodate the influx of business. Families and couples were eyeing up the menus eagerly, looking to give themselves the energy they needed to explore more of the capital. One such couple was taking things a tad slower, though the young lady was beginning to feel her appetite awaken, which slowly began to pull her out of her deep sleep.

Nora moaned gently, wrestling with her two greatest pastimes other than causing trouble with Ren: eating and sleeping. Her body would fight over its need to remain in bed and sleep in, and its endless desire for food. This was especially difficult for her, as breakfast was her favourite meal of the day, thanks to Ren's God given skill for pancakes and other breakfast items. Her secret wish was to combine all her favourite pastimes in one; breakfast in bed with Ren. It was a farfetched dream according to Nora, as she had not made any progress in confessing her love to him, nor had he made a move on her. Given the situation, she decided that it was better to remain in bed for a little while longer, to dream for that day when she could enjoy a meal in bed with the boy she loved, and then have some breakfast. In any event, Pyrrha would no doubt wake her, for she always had, given she consistently was the first to rise in the morning.

The ginger pulled on her pillow to snuggle it deeply, as it was strangely more comfortable than it had ever been. She wouldn't have bothered to question this, except for the fact that it smelled different than usual. Black pepper, rosemary, smoked salt, paprika, she couldn't list them all, but it certainly strengthened her hunger and began to bring her out of her slumber.

"Why does my pillow smell so good?" she mumbled, and gently opened her eyes to look at it. They slowly adjusted, bringing into focus a dozing Lie Ren, his head turned towards her with a peaceful expression on his face. "Oh, it's cuz I'm still dreaming. Good..."

She laid her cheek back onto his chest and snuggled closer as she shut her eyes, wanting to enjoy this to the fullest. Unfortunately for Nora, her hunger was winning the battle against her wish to sleep, allowing her brain to begin to process what was actually going on. For a dream, Ren was oddly real, both in touch and in scent, which caused her to open her eyes once again. She took a good look at the boy, her head still on his chest, which she could now feel it steadily rise and fall as he slept; his heart beating slow and just as steady. He inhaled and exhaled through his nose so scarcely that it could barely be heard, but had enough force to push the strands of hair that had fallen on his face to swing. As Nora examined his handsome features, the realization began to strike at her half-woken mind that this was not a dream, and her eyes nearly blasted out of her skull.

'Ren'sinmybedRen'sinmybedRen'sinmybedRen'sinmybedRen'sinmybed!' she screamed in her mind, the words crashing into one another like a fifty car pileup, which she thankfully didn't scream aloud as she had now become frozen like a deer in the headlights.

What in the names of the Gods was he doing in her bed? What happened last night? If they weren't fully clothed, she would have fainted then and there, as that was not how she wanted her first time with him to go. While heavily distracted by her situation, she desperately tried to remember what happened at the party. She remembered the food, the drinking, winning the drinking game...and then nothing. Something must have happened, but all that she could conjure was darkness. Had she passed out and was carried to her room? Evidently, but why was Ren here? Had he also had too much to drink? If so, then why were they cuddling like this? It was then that she noticed that his right hand was on her back, holding her closely, which only made her racing heart beat faster.

'What am I going to do?' she cried, biting her bottom lip.

She knew that she needed to get out of her bed before Ren awoke, for fear of what embarrassing reaction would occur. She didn't know exactly _how_ Ren would react, but she wasn't so naive to think that he would suddenly confess that he loved her as if it were some fairy tale. And yet, if she were to try and leave her bed, there was a very good chance that he would wake up, as he had always been a light sleeper. She was truly trapped between a rock and a hard place, and she had no idea what she was going to do. Could she have Pyrrha assist her? As embarrassing as it would be found like this, it would be much better to have her best friend do so than Yang, who would mercilessly tease them till the start of the new school year.

Nora slowly looked over her shoulder to her fearful frustration that Pyrrha has not in her bed. Where in Remnant could she be? She then began to look for her Scroll, which should still be on her. As slowly as she dared, she removed her right hand from Ren's chest, and reached for her pocket, to which she did not find her Scroll. She looked at her pocket in dismay, but then saw that her Scroll was near the foot of her bed, as it most likely had fallen out during the night. She had no idea how to reach it now, for if she tried to pull it closer with her foot, the boy she was sleeping on would wake right away. To make matters worse, she now realized that her right leg was snaked in between Ren's, and wrapped round his right. Her heart began to pound at the intimacy of their embrace, making it even more that trying to free herself would wake him. What was she to do now?

Like a gunshot in the night, the click of the bedroom door suddenly sounded, causing Nora to see it open in the corner of her eye, and she quickly returned to her original sleeping position, pretending to doze. Fear gripped her as she had no idea who had entered, for she didn't know if Ren had locked the door. Her luck had finally turned for the better however, as it was none other than Pyrrha herself, still in her regular clothes but with her hair down.

"Pyrrha..." whispered Nora, praying it was her, which caused the redhead to jump, as she hadn't expected for her teammate to be awake.

"I'm sorry" Pyrrha whispered back, walking over to her. "I didn't mean to wake–"

"Help..." the ginger pleaded, looking up at her friend with large scared eyes. They thankfully conveyed everything Pyrrha needed to know, but it took her a moment to stop herself from giggling up a storm. She drew closer to her friend and smiled at her.

"I take it you want to not make this pickle you've found yourself in to become overly embarrassing" she said softly, already knowing the answer.

"What am I gonna do?" Nora asked.

"Go back to sleep" Pyrrha instructed. "I'll then wake Ren up and let him think that you just dozed off together, and you aren't aware that it even occurred. How does that sound?"

Having no other real option at her disposal, the hammeress nodded slowly, and closed her eyes. Pyrrha waited a moment to enjoy the view, as it made evermore clear that her friends made an adorable couple. Once getting her fill, the lieutenant placed her hand gently on Ren's left shoulder, and shook him.

"Ren, it's time to wake up" she said.

It took a second attempt to rouse him, which had previously never been the case, suggesting that he had been _very_ comfortable, and did not want to awaken just yet. Nevertheless, he lifted his head and squinted at Pyrrha, her warm smile focusing into clarity, which woke him fully.

"P-Pyrrha" he stuttered, realizing what the situation looked like from the outside.

"Shh" she silenced him softly. "You'll wake Nora. Let me get you out of there and then we'll talk."

Swallowing nervously, Ren nodded, and allowed her to help separate him from his "sleeping" beauty. Nora of course continued to play opossum, and lay quietly until she was given the all clear. Now standing beside the bed, Ren straightened himself and looked at his saviour with flushed cheeks.

"Th-Thank you" he whispered.

"Don't mention it" Pyrrha replied with a smile. "I was wondering where you two had gone last night."

"I-I'm sorry. I tried to put her to bed, but she didn't want to let go. I then got trapped underneath her and I didn't have the heart to wake her so..."

"I figured that was the case. When I found you both in bed last night, I decided not to disturb you. I hope you slept well."

Pyrrha's tone was almost playful, which wasn't a great shock as not only was the situation rather comical, but with Nora still awake, perhaps she could get Ren to admit something; as underhanded as it was.

"A-Again, thank you. I should have texted either you or Jaune to let you know I wasn't coming back to the party, but I was...distracted."

"Yes, I am sure you were."

It was then that Ren began to realize what was happening, and looked at Pyrrha distrustfully.

"You're starting to turn into Yang" he commented, causing her to giggle with her hand covering her mouth.

"Oh Ren, I'm not so merciless. I'm just teasing a little" she defended, which was true. "It was very sweet of you to look after her like that."

"Of course. She loves to go over the top with everything, so I'm always worried about her."

"Yes, she is quite a handful" Pyrrha remarked, before smiling slightly. "Not _too_ much I hope."

"She's been this way for nearly as long as I've known her" he replied, and scratched his cheek as they turned slightly pink. "I wouldn't have it any other way." When he looked back at his lieutenant, the colour in his face deepened further, as she was smiling in a manner that told him he had implied something more profound. "I-I should probably go."

"Alright then. Jaune is already up so there's no need to worry about disturbing him" she informed. "I'll see you both at breakfast."

Ren nodded and bowed in gratitude, if a bit embarrassed, before leaving the dorm room. A pregnant pause came about the moment the door closed, and Pyrrha looked at Nora, who was now on her right side and still pretending to be asleep. A smile of amusement began to grow on the champion's face, as she understood what was happening. She took a few steps forward and knelt before the edge of the bed, resting her elbows on it with her palms propped under her chin. Nora, feeling Pyrrha displacing the bed, shut her eyes tighter, unable to look at her friend after what had just occurred.

"Ren's gone, Nora" the redhead announced, stating the obvious. "You can stop pretending to sleep."

"...What happened last night?" Nora asked, keeping her eyes firmly shut.

"Well, you had quite a bit to drink."

"I know, and I can't remember anything after winning the contest" the ginger moaned, finally opening her eyes. "What did you mean that Ren had to look after me? What did I do?"

"Oh nothing dangerous or embarrassing" Pyrrha explained. "After winning, you came to join Jaune, Yang, Ruby, Ren, and myself. And, as I agree with Yang's assumption, you became jealous of Jaune and I cuddling, so you decided to hug Ren and snuggle him."

Nora's eyes bulged out of her skull, her face turning redder by the second.

"N-No...I didn't really do that, did I?"

Her reaction caused Pyrrha's smile to grow, and she leaned in closer.

"You did, to which you then buried your face in his chest and said 'Renny, you smell good'."

The Mistralese Huntress-in-training did her best to impersonate her friend, and while she wasn't sure of how well she had done, the reaction it got from Nora was worth it. Her entire face was scarlet, and her lips quivered, unable to utter a word. It all became too much for her to bear, causing her to grab her pillow, and cover her head with it, clutching at it tightly. Pyrrha began to giggle at her, which quickly grew into laughter, as she could faintly hear the ginger squealing from behind the shield of cotton.

"Oh don't be so shy, Nora. You should have seen how much you made him blush. You were both so cute!"

With surprising speed, Nora took a swing at Pyrrha with her pillow, which Pyrrha dodged with a duck before pulling her friend into a tight hug.

"Let me go, Pyrrha!" Nora cried as she clutched onto her friend's arms.

"Nora" the redhead giggled "I'm not trying to be mean. It _was_ very cute, and it can only mean brighter things in future."

"No! It's so embarrassing" she cried, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Nothing else happen, right?"

"No, you fell asleep right afterwards, and Ren then carried you to your room."

Pyrrha's explanation only made the situation worse for Nora, who looked up at her friend in horror.

"H-He picked me up and carried me?" she repeated. When Pyrrha nodded, Nora became very quiet and tried to hide behind the redhead's arms. "D-Did he have trouble? Was I too heavy?" she asked. Her question took Pyrrha by surprise, as Nora had never shown any concern regarding her weight before.

"No, not at all" Pyrrha replied. She paused for a moment, as she wasn't certain of what to say to reassure her.

Seeing Nora self-conscious about her appearance was yet another new development. It had only occurred once before when she asked for her help in getting a dress for the Dance, which Pyrrha had obliged despite feeling depressed from Jaune asking Weiss out over her. Other than that, Nora was always bursting with confidence, so to see her so shy about her weight was a shock, as only just the day before had she boldly proclaimed her thick thighs were something she was proud of. It was then that Pyrrha knew what to say, and smiled mischievously.

"Besides, Ren certainly doesn't seem to mind, given how much he checks you out; your 'thunder thighs' especially, as you call them."

Nora squirmed and she bit her bottom lip, not sure if she should feel happy, or so embarrassed she could die.

"I-I'm gonna go shower!" she hastily announced, wiggling out of her friend's grasp, and briskly walked to the bathroom, shutting it behind her. Pyrrha giggled once more as she got to her feet.

"Make sure to leave some hot water for me!" she called.

"No!" Nora shot back through the door. "I'm using it all because you teased me!"

Pyrrha laughed, and stared at the bathroom door for a moment, before walking to it and knocking twice.

"What?" Nora demanded.

"Since I was in a better position to notice than you were, Ren was rather embarrassed" she explained. "The kind of embarrassment that comes from being close to a woman whom you haven't crossed the line with, but you know it is there. What I mean is, Ren's reaction was how a man who knows it's not right to get so close to a woman, unless you're in a relationship with her. In my humble opinion, I truly believe that Ren does see you as a woman, for if he only saw you as family, there would be no reason for him to be so flustered. Don't you think?"

The redhead paused for a moment, waiting for Nora to respond.

"OK..." came her voice timidly, which Pyrrha could tell meant she understood what she meant.

Satisfied, she stretched her arms to the ceiling, knowing deep down that today was going to be an eventful one. 

λΛλ

The students of Beacon slowly gathered into the dining hall, though there were a noticeable amount of them missing. With the tournament now over, many had decided to eat out, leaving the hall feeling larger than usual. Even at the regular table that Teams RWBY and JNPR sat at, had fewer people seated. Team SSSN had yet to appear, though they had been invited the night before to join them, and Nora was strangely absent. She had told Pyrrha to go on ahead to breakfast without her, which did cause some concern from the rest of her team. Nevertheless, they had gone to the hall without her, and continuously looked towards the large doors, hoping to see her enter.

Just before those doors was the ginger in question, hesitating to set foot into the dining hall. She had spent a longer time than usual getting ready, as her mind had been swirling with thoughts about what had occurred between herself and Ren. He may have been able to lift her without issue, which a part of her was overjoyed it had happened, whilst being annoyed she couldn't remember it. However, the fact they had shared her bed as they had, caused a myriad of other questions to pester her. Did she have bad breath? Did she smell bad? Every little thing that normally never came to mind, was trying to get through a metaphorical hatchway to her psyche, all at the same time. She was so stressed, that she had no idea how she was going to face Ren. Thinking over Pyrrha's observation, which did uplift her spirits somewhat, there was still the issue of interacting with Ren knowing what she now knew. This was always, of course, her greatest fear; not being able to continue the relationship they had had for so long because of romantic feelings making things overly awkward.

'Don't think about that now' she thought finally, trying to calm herself. If she wanted to avoid causing any more suspicion, she needed to join her friends as soon as possible. Taking a deep breath, she clapped her cheeks with both hands, and marched towards the others.

"Good morning!" she said cheerily. "Sorry for being late! I needed to take care of some stuff."

"Where you hung-over?" asked Blake. "You did drink quite a bit last night.

"No no I feel great, don't worry" Nora dismissed, which was true. When her eyes finally fell on Ren however, she felt herself instantly tense up. The image of his handsome face peacefully sleeping beside her came to mind, an image she would keep close to her heart until it became an everyday routine, causing her heart to skip a beat. 'Don't make it awkward!' she told herself. "Good morning, Ren!~"

"Uh, good morning" he replied, also trying not to act awkwardly. "How did you sleep?"

"Great! You?"

"S-Same."

"Oh, I forgot to say yesterday, the barbecue was great! You're cooking is always the best."

That, along with her bright smile, greatly eased Ren's nerves, allowing him to return her smile and act more normally.

"Thank you, Nora, though Sun and Neptune deserve equal praise for their part. Speaking of which, since you decided to take your time this morning" he said reaching over to a covered plate that rested before the ginger's regular seat, and removed the top to reveal a healthy stack of pancakes. "I thought I would go ahead and make you some pancakes."

Nora looked at the stack, and then to Ren, before her heart soared and she smiled from ear to ear.

"Thank you, Ren!~" she cried, hugging him tightly. "It's exactly what I wanted for breakfast. How did you know?"

"A feeling" he lied, but very glad to see her reacting as she was. "You should eat before they get cold."

"Yes sir!~" she replied with a salute, and grabbed the syrup dispenser on the table, bathing her breakfast in amber gold.

The rest of her team watched them with soft smiles on their faces. The couple who couldn't admit it aloud they were in love with one another were back to normal, which gave Jaune and Pyrrha hope that it wouldn't be much longer until they finally cross the line that divided friends from lovers. On the other side of the table however, Yang was observing them with a coy smirk, and began to nod at them approvingly.

"First taking her to bed, then making her breakfast; very nice, Ren" she complimented, raising her eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

Ren's cheeks became red, not only because he knew what the blonde was implying, but that he didn't want Nora to know, for fear of what her reaction would be. To the hammeress' credit, she managed to disguise her initial shock through eating before replying, and acted if she hadn't been made aware of the truth.

"What?" she asked ignorantly.

"You had a bit too much to drink last night" informed Blake.

"Then when you came to join the rest of us, you starting hugging Ren and passed out, so he carried you to bed" continued Yang, leaning in for effect. "And he _never_ came back."

Ren swallowed as discreetly as possible, and tried to come up with a proper response to avoid suspicion. He was anxious of Nora's reaction however, and that caused him to hesitate, fearing that the wrong explanation could make things very uncomfortable. Before he could speak, Nora herself exclaimed her surprise.

"Really?" she said, turning to look at Ren with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Ren! I promise not to drink so much from now on."

Once again, her behaviour and facial expression warmed his heart, causing him to smile.

"It's fine. Everything in moderation, as they say."

"Which she clearly doesn't know anything about" remarked Weiss, eyeing Nora's breakfast.

"But it's so good though!" the ginger defended.

"Hey!" cried Yang, snapping her fingers. "You two aren't getting away that easily. I want to know why you didn't come back. Did you two decide to share that bed or not?"

This comment was much more difficult for the couple in question to weather, and both their faces began to flush. Thankfully, they would not have to face the blonde's onslaught alone, as their teammates had been expecting the elder Xiao Long sister to ask such questions.

"Given that Ren and I are roommates, I can assure you that he was sleeping in his own bed last night" defended Jaune.

"Same with Nora" added Pyrrha."

"I'm sorry for not texting either of you. I just decided to go to bed early" Ren continued, very grateful that they had come to his rescue.

Yang eyed the four of them distrustfully, not entirely sure if they were telling the truth, but decided to let it go for now, as Ren and Nora would obviously act _very_ differently if they had consummated their love.

"Good morning ladies and gents!" said a familiar voice, causing the Beaconites to turn and see it was Sun who was speaking, accompanied by the rest of Team SSSN. Instinctively Weiss made room for Neptune to sit beside her, as did Blake for Sun, who began to blush when he smiled at her. "So what do we have on the chopping block for today? Now that the tournament is over, we can relax and check out the city together."

"That's not a bad idea actually" agreed Yang. "What're you up for?"

"Anything and everything."

"If it's all the same" began Jaune, "I'd like to call in a favour."

"A favour?" echoed the Monkey Faunus.

"Yeah. Since Pyrrha and I are going on our date tomorrow, I was kinda hoping that I could get some new clothes, since I don't have any good civies. I'm terrible at that sort of thing, so I was hoping you could help me out, Neptune."

The Vacuan lieutenant now understood what he was getting at, and nodded with a smirk.

"You got it, man" he replied.

"Shopping sounds like an excellent idea" chimed Weiss, putting her hands together.

"Yeah, we can split up between the girls and the boys, and then meet up for lunch or something" added Yang, very happy with this idea.

"Bleeeeeeeeh" groaned Ruby, sticking her tongue out as she dropped her head. "I _hate_ shopping."

"Oh suck it up, sis. You need to be a girl sooner or later."

"I'm very much a girl!" Ruby shot back.

"Then be quiet and come shopping with us!"

The younger Xiao Long looked at her sister sourly, but ultimately relented.

"That reminds me" realized Pyrrha. "I forgot to ask, what is the dress code for the restaurant you reserved for our date?"

"Nothing really. It's not a crazy fancy place or anything, but I want to look good, obviously, so I'm going to get some new clothes" he replied. "And like I said, I really do need a wardrobe change. I can't just be in armour all the time, and I can't go on our date in armour or in the school uniform."

"Alright then. I'll look for a new outfit as well" Pyrrha replied.

"You don't have to."

"If you are, then why shouldn't I?"

"I want to look good for you."

"And I for you."

"But I told you yesterday that you look good in anything, and I meant it."

"I know you did, but I still want to put extra effort for you, just as you are putting extra effort for me."

"I love you more, no I love you more, no _I_ love you more, no _I_ love you more" mimicked Yang in a mocking voice. "We _get it_ , you two. You better not get _too_ lovey-dovey after tomorrow or else I'll go _insane_!"

"No promises" the couple said in unison, causing them to smile at one another, and the rest of their team to snicker.

The Huntsmen-in-training continued to chat as they ate, not in the biggest of rushes to head to the shops. After all, it was their time to relax and enjoy the remaining week or so of the Vytal Festival before the end of the school year, and they would all be returning to their homes, most of which were in the other three Kingdoms. It would be months before they would see each other again, and potentially longer before all three teams would be in the same place at the same time. Every second mattered, and they would make the most of them.

λΛλ

The group left the academy after finishing their breakfast, and headed to the Commercial District, which was far more active than usual. While many shops had opened booths on the fairgrounds to serve the influx of tourists, the main shops were still open; to not only serve their usual clientele, but also tourists that happened not to want to go to Beacon. It was here that the group now found themselves, and were now dividing in two, heading in opposite directions and looking for the best shops to enter. The boys found one that caught their eye, more so Neptune's as it was his wheelhouse, and entered it.

"So what exactly are you looking for?" he asked Jaune.

"Don't know exactly. Nothing flashy or over the top" the blond swordsman replied. "The restaurant isn't some fancy place, and I requested that we would have privacy. I need something nice not just for this date, but for others in future, and just for going out in general."

"Half a dozen new outfits it is."

"Hang on–"

"What about you, Ren? Looking for anything you need?" Neptune asked, turning to the green-clad young man.

Ren paused for a moment, genuinely thinking the offer over, before remembering a previous conversation.

"I might as well. My wardrobe is just as sparse as Jaune's" he replied.

"Then let's get to work."

It was a rather humorous experience to say the least. Team SSSN were running around the shop, trying to come up with as many outfit combinations as possible for their friends. Jaune had some experience with this, as his sisters that were old enough to care about shopping, would drag him along to not only help with carrying their bags, but for his opinion; which was never what they wanted to hear. Ren on the other hand, was far more out of his element than he thought he would. He obviously did not have the experience that Jaune had, as he was lucky to have any clothing at all, but the only skill he had acquired other than keeping Nora in line, was cooking. He wasn't aware of the many, and seemingly convoluted rules that came with matching tops and bottoms. After a point, he realized that it was better to simply let Neptune guide him without putting up too much of a fight, other than some particular colour choices that he simply didn't agree with.

After an hour, which felt much longer to Ren, the boys finally left the shop victorious, each carrying a pair of bags.

"Mission accomplished" Neptune said, smirking proudly, before fist bumping Sun.

"I am never doing that again" Ren groaned.

"C'mon, it wasn't that bad" Jaune chuckled. "Try doing this with three older sisters during a massive sale. Now _that_ is Hell on Remnant. Besides, we got some pretty good stuff, and have plenty of time to spare."

"I suppose."

"Thanks again, guys" the blond added, turning to look at Sun and Neptune. "We owe you one."

"Think nothing of it" Neptune replied with a wave of his hand. "I owed you one for helping me get together with Weiss, so this was a good way to start."

"And besides, we all got girlfriends now, so we have to look good for'em, you feel me?" Sun added. "Speaking of which, you and Valkyrie get up to anything last night, Ren?"

Ren nearly tripped, not expecting the question. "W-What?"

"You and Nora. You both disappeared early from the party and you never came back. I figured you two went to have some time alone."

The green-clad Huntsman-in-training cleared his throat as he composed himself, feeling his cheeks warm. How naive of him to think that he had entirely avoided the subject after what happened at breakfast.

"No, I just brought her to bed since she drank too much, and I decided to call it a night" he deflected.

"Same bed or no?" Sage asked with a grin.

Ren's face reddened further, as while he of course had done nothing with Nora last night, they did indeed share her bed, and he couldn't conceal his emotions as seamlessly as he would have liked.

"N-No. Nora and I don't have that kind of relationship. We're not _together_ -together" he partially lied. It was beginning to bother him to use the phrase Nora had coined, especially after the conversation he had with Jaune about its implications.

"Dude, seriously?" Sun asked, eyebrows raised and looked between both members of Team JNPR. "I kinda didn't believe the others when they said it last night, but wow. Why?"

Ren sighed in exasperation, never in his life thinking that he would become the centre of attention like this. Jaune ribbed him with his elbow playfully, enjoying that the tables had turned.

"Ren, buddy, let's talk" the Faunus began, wrapping his right arm around Ren's shoulders. "Be honest with me, you're into her." The boy in question tried to protest, but he was shut down immediately. "C'mon, stop being so uptight. It's just us boys here, so let's talk openly. Let's accept that you two aren't a thing, as hard to believe as that is, but you _do_ think she's hot, right?"

Ren opened his mouth, though having no idea what to say.

"Of course he does" Jaune answered for him.

"Jaune!"

"What? It's true; you told me yourself."

"In private!" Ren shot back, his cheeks now properly red, which caused the blond swordsman to laugh, as it was a treat to see his friend so animated.

"Alrighty, we've confirmed you're a warm blooded man, wonderful. Now!" Sun continued, paying no mind to Ren's panic. "She's clearly into you, so why haven't you made your move?"

Ren stayed quiet, steadying his breathing. This was his first time having a boy's talk, talking about girls and relationships, so it was rather overwhelming. He had spoken about Nora with Jaune privately of course, but that was exactly the difference; _privately_. He hardly knew Team SSSN, so talking about the details of his relationship with Nora was out of the question. At the same time, he knew that they were just acting like any other group of guy friends would, which was a strangely pleasant experience; despite the hyperventilation.

"It's complicated" he answered at last. "Also, there hasn't been an appropriate opportunity."

"What about last night? When you two were alone?"

"She was drunk! I'd never take advantage of her like that!" Ren fired back, fuming.

"And no one would ever think that you would, but having some liquid courage at a party, and then having some time alone, does present a chance to relax and talk more openly about stuff. Take me for example. Blake and I had some beer, and she really loosened up. We ended up cuddling together on one of those beanbag chairs after having a great time laughing with the others." His explanation seemed to calm Ren somewhat, allowing the Faunus to get to the point of his argument. "It's clear to all of us that you and Nora would make a great couple, and last night would have been a great time to take things further; not right in the sack, but further along so that you don't get yourself into the friend-zone. You've got to be clear with a girl about your intentions. Also, making them wait is far from a good idea. She might be really into you, but she ain't gonna wait forever. What happens if another guy who's much more willing to give her attention shows up and sweeps her off her feet?"

That hit closer to home than Ren would have liked. At the Beacon Dance, he had noticed some students checking Nora out, and for the first time in his life, he had felt jealousy. He made an effort to dance with Nora the entire night, which she seemed to have very much enjoyed. The idea of her being with another man made his guts twist. Would she really give up on him if he made her wait too long?

"That won't happen" cut in Jaune, causing them all to look at him in surprise. "Nora's only got eyes for Ren, and that's not changing any time soon."

"You know her better than we do, but you never know–"

"No, I _do_ know" Jaune insisted with a grin. "Because I'm not gonna let him be as dumb as I was with Pyrrha. I'll get them together come Hell or high water. I swear to the Gods and the Great Lancer I will."

Ren felt incredibly humbled by his captain's words, which also caused Team SSSN to nod in approval.

"You're a real bro, Arc" grinned Sun, pointing at him with a pistol gesture with his free hand. "Alrighty, we got some time before we meet up with the girls. Wanna hit the arcades before then?"

With unanimous agreement, the boys made their way to the local arcade, ready to have some fun.

λΛλ

The girls were on a similar venture. They had thrown themselves significantly harder at the shopping part of their outing, and as a consequence, left with many more bags in tow.

"That...was fantastic" said Yang, smiling in satisfaction as she clutched two fistfuls of bags.

"Yes, yes it was" Weiss agreed with a similar expression on her face and holding just as many bags.

"There were so many cute outfits here. It was actually a lot of fun" Nora added, holding bags of her own.

"Surprisingly. Their selection of tailored Faunus clothing was impressive" continued Blake, smiling contently at her own haul.

"And there were good discounts thanks to the festival" Pyrrha remarked, though held a much more conservative number of bags.

Ruby on the other hand, had nothing, but was last to exit the shop, lurching forward in exhaustion, and dragging her feet as if her shoes were made of lead.

"That was the worst..." she groaned. "I should have gone with the boys..."

"You see what I have to put up with?" the blonde said frowning, gesturing to her sister. "I'm lucky enough to have a sister close to my age, and I can't do anything with her. I can't go shopping with her, can't talk about boys, she won't let me do her nails, and the one time she let me do her hair, she made me cut it."

"What happened?" asked Weiss.

"I thought she would look cute if she grew it out, and she did by the end, but she kept whining until I gave in and cut it short again" Yang replied with a sigh.

"It was hot and itchy, and it made fighting with Crescent Rose dangerous" Ruby shot back.

"You could have tied it up or let me braid it" her sister countered.

"It takes _so_ much time! I could be doing so many other things!"

"You might be cute as a button, but I can't wait for you to grow up. Speaking of which, you should have seen how things went when she started going through puberty. Me, being the older sibling, decided to give our poor dad a break, and said that I would be the one to help her buy bras and other stuff. As you can guess, Ruby wasn't up for it, so I had to convince her that bras are titty holsters. Worked like a charm."

This caused Nora to cackle, with the others all giving the short captain appropriate looks. It did not shock any of them that it had been the case growing up, as Ruby had shown to be rather resistant to dressing up for the Dance. The girl in question had no reply other than sticking out her tongue, which always seemed to be her final resort. Blake then looked at her friend, eyeing her carefully before speaking.

"I really can't see you with long hair" she offered with an understanding smirk. "Short works better for you."

"Thank you!" the younger Xiao Long cried. "And you...look great as you are. I don't know how you'd look with short hair, but I'm going to say long hair is the better look."

Blake winced. "Me with short hair? And look like my _mother_? No thanks."

"My mother keeps her hair short" Pyrrha said defensively with a slight frown. "It couldn't be as bad as you're implying."

Yang looked over to Weiss and nodded acknowledging the signal, and passed her bags over to the blonde. She then arranged their teammate's hair so that it looked more or less as if it had been cut shorter.

"...Then again..." admitted the redhead, not wanting to insult her.

"Long hair it is" nodded Yang.

"Perhaps we could braid it" Weiss suggested, "as in a long weave."

"Maybe, maybe."

During this exchange, Nora began to play with her own hair, considering some options of her own.

"Should I grow out my hair?" she asked. "I mean, it used to be long when I was a kid, but I've kept it short for the past few years."

Pyrrha looked at her friend, trying to imagine her with longer hair, whilst acknowledging what the ginger was thinking. Once again, Nora was concerned about her appearance, no doubt with Ren at the forefront of her mind.

"We can experiment if you'd like. Should we ask for Ren's opinion?" she asked with a slight playfulness in her voice.

Nora's cheeks flushed instantly, but she wasn't going to go down so easily.

"Only if we can ask Jaune for his opinion about your bikini" she fired back with a mischievous grin, causing Pyrrha to blush deeply.

"You bought it?" gasped Yang, her eyes as wide as her smile.

"But it's too revealing!" Weiss objected, having been against purchasing it earlier.

"Nora!" Pyrrha hissed, as she wanted to keep it a secret, but realized it was too late now, and glared at the ginger, who was grinning in victory. "Yes, I purchased it. I have every right to."

"Atta girl" grinned Yang. "Planning to get frisky over the summer? Make love on the beach? _Very_ romantic."

The redhead's face was nearing the same shade as her hair, causing her to stutter.

"N-No! If I ever were to go to the beach with Jaune, I would wear one of my swimsuits that I already own! I just bought this one for the future! And it's not skimpy! There were _far_ worse ones in that shop. It's a nice normal bikini. Honestly, why does everything have to be sexual with you?"

"Pyrrha, honey" the blonde began, leaning forward with a cocked eyebrow, preparing to drop a great deal of wisdom on the Mistralese champion. "The reason we wear bikinis is one, to get a boy's attention, and two, to _keep_ his attention when we get him. It's about showing off the goods, which you've got plenty of after toning your body like you have for being a pro athlete for so long. There's no point in hiding it now."

Pyrrha swallowed shyly at Yang's words, but managed to compose herself and hold her ground.

"I bought it because I thought it looked nice, and it was on sale. I'll wear it when I deem it appropriate, thank you" she replied. Yang continued to gaze at her before finally straightening her posture with a sigh.

"Fine, do as you like. Just don't get mad at me when you're sitting there next to him wishing you were in the bikini, and not whatever you've currently got."

"I'll keep that in mind, thank you, Yang."

"Ladies, as much as I love talking with you" began Weiss, dabbing her forehead with a handkerchief. "If we're going to continue shopping or chat incessantly, I am going to need something cold to drink."

"Oh! There's a coffee shop over there that has iced drinks!" pointed Ruby excitedly, who began to walk briskly towards it with the overheated heiress right behind her. They stopped when they heard Yang giggle behind them, and turned to see what she was laughing at.

"Hey, want to pop in here for a sec?" she asked, pointing to her left.

The girls looked to where she was pointing, and began to blush, as the sight made them recoil slightly. The shop was a lingerie store, with the mannequins in the window display, wearing sexy bra and panty combinations.

"Since you four have boyfriends" she scanned her finger across Pyrrha, Nora, Blake, and Weiss, "why don't we get you some sexy underwear for your dates? Ya know, just in case."

The four blushed even deeper, each thinking about the blonde's suggestion differently, but all felt too embarrassed to take her up on the offer.

"Let's get those drinks, shall we?" proposed Weiss, setting out once again for the coffee shop, tailed closely by the other flustered Huntresses-in-training. Yang watched them leave with a smirk on her face, folding her arms.

"Kids" she remarked, shaking her head. "You'll come back for my advice sooner or later."

Chuckling to herself, she made her way to the coffee shop, making a mental note of the lingerie store's location for future use. 

λΛλ

After they had all acquired beverages, the Huntresses-in-training learned that the coffee shop had an open veranda on its roof that overlooked the river. To their good fortune they found it was vacant, allowing them to relax and talk more openly. Pyrrha and Weiss began discussing how they expected their dates to go, as the Atlassian had indeed made reservations of her own in two days time. During this conversation, Yang was looking over Blake with a proud smirk on her face. The Faunus finally noticed this, and looked at her friend in confusion.

"What?" she asked timidly, knowing that anything could come out of the blonde's mouth.

"It's good to finally see you" Yang replied, only causing Blake, along with the others, to become even more perplexed. "Look at you. Ears out, tail out; the real you finally out here with the rest of us. Nice to meet you, Blake the Faunus."

Ever since the party the night before, Blake hadn't bothered to wear her bow or hide her tail. No one had said anything before they left for breakfast, and Blake hadn't tried to correct it while they were shopping, suggesting that it was premeditated and not an oversight on her part. Now that Yang had made herself clear, the others all began to smile at Blake, also feeling some pride in her no longer hiding her true self. As for the Faunus in question, she began to blush bashfully, realizing how natural it felt to be herself again, and how her friends had noticed. She was about to speak, though not knowing exactly what to say, when Yang fired a comment that struck close to home.

"Man, Sun really did a number on you, didn't he?"

The raven-haired girl's face lit up like an oven burner, and her now freed ears shot upwards to the sky.

"W-What? W-We didn't do anything!" she defended in a panic.

"We know; you share a room with us" Yang grinned, enjoying her friend's reaction. "Sun's bold, but he isn't _that_ bold. What I meant was how smitten you've become with him. We saw how close you two got last night, cuddling with him on that beanbag like a cat after having a bowl of milk. Did you two finally plan you're date before you fell asleep?"

"N-Not yet" she answered, her eyes dropping to her lap.

"Really? What are you waiting for?" asked Weiss in surprise. "Team SSSN will be going back to Vacuo in less than two weeks. I can recommend some restaurants and get you a reservation if you'd like." 

"Yeah, now's the time. Seriously, you've must've fallen for him pretty hard to let him play with your hair like that" Yang added. "I mean, that's the only way _I_ would let a guy touch my hair."

"If the restaurant Jaune and I go to tomorrow is of fine quality, I can recommend it" offered Pyrrha with a smile.

Blake's flushed face only grew darker, as her ears folded backwards against her head. Unfortunately without her bow, this was now visible to her friends, and it only gave them ammunition to embarrass her further.

"Look at her ears!" squealed the blonde as she pointed. "They fold back when she's shy! Oh she's so cute!"

Before Blake could stop her, Yang pulled her into a tight hug, rocking back in forth like a child receiving a teddy bear for their birthday. This was a very unexpected reaction for Blake, as she had been conditioned to expect insults about her racial traits, not praised for them. It was now becoming a bit too much for her to handle, and she needed a moment to breathe.

"P-Please let go" she begged, feeling as if her face was on fire.

"Fine. We'll talk about this later. We'll go over when and where the date will be, and give you tips on what to do."

"Yeah..." Blake said quietly, which Weiss noticed, along with the look in her eyes.

"Now, girls!" Yang announced, clapping her hands together. "Let's turn our attention to Nora." The ginger looked up at the blonde with the straw of her iced tea in her mouth, her big turquoise coloured eyes looking at the others confused, as she had not been paying close attention to the conversation. "What's up with you and Ren? Seriously, I don't even fully believe that nothing happened last night when you two left, so let's just get to brass tacks and you tell us what's _really_ going on."

Nora's head snapped back, pulling her lips from the straw before coughing.

"We-We didn't do anything" she managed to say after recovering. "I mean, we aren't _together_ -toge–"

"Oh shut up!" cut in Yang, no longer accepting her go-to excuse. "Maybe you aren't together, but you are _definitely_ into him _hard_. So stop pretending and be honest with us. The boys aren't here, so answer once and for all: do you like him or not?"

Nora looked at her friends nervously before glancing at Pyrrha, who was smiling in amusement as if to say, "What's the harm?"

Sighing, the ginger replied at last. "Yeah, I like him."

"Alright! The ball's finally rolling!" cheered the blonde, leaning forward in excitement. "Now! Why aren't you two dating then? You came to Beacon together right?"

"Well, yeah. We've been friends for a long time, and we wanted to become Huntsmen together" Nora replied honestly.

"And how long have you liked him?" asked Weiss.

Nora blushed. "For just as long as I've known him..."

"Which has been how long?"

"Ten years..."

Other than Pyrrha, they all raised their eyebrows.

"Oh" said Weiss.

"That explains a few things" Blake admitted.

"That explains _a lot_ " Yang corrected. "Wow OK, now I get why it's so complicated. You're childhood friends and you like him, but he might see you as a sister. Right, we need to rethink how we approach this."

"That isn't an issue" informed Pyrrha. "Jaune and I have already seen him check her out, which is all according to plan as Nora started wearing her skirt to attract him. He also said you were pretty in your dress, didn't he?"

Nora blushed. "Yeah, he texted me afterwards. That was a huge relief, as I've never worn a dress before."

"Alright, that's a good start. Nice initiative, Valkyrie" the blonde grinned. "So have you tried to take things further?"

"It doesn't have to be anything extreme, unlike what Yang is undoubtedly thinking" added Weiss, causing the brawler to raise her eyebrows suggestively. "Have you ever spoken to him about your feelings?"

"No..." Nora replied sheepishly, looking down at her drink.

"What's holding you back?" asked Yang. "If he's checking you out, and with the way he acted at the party last night, I think now's the time."

Nora began to play with her beverage nervously, rotating the cup in her hands.

"...I just don't know how he's going to react" she expressed at last. "I don't want things to become so awkward that we can't be friends anymore. I don't know what I'll do if that happens."

"If you've known each other for ten years, then there's no way he would just stop being friends with you" rationalized Blake. "I never got that vibe from him."

"I agree. And you're making it sound as if it will be the end of the world if he doesn't return your feelings right away" the heiress addressed. "Not that I don't sympathize with your situation, nor do I believe he _won't_ return your feelings with his own, but having that outlook is certainly not helping things."

"But it _will_ be that bad..." mumbled Nora.

"Nora, c'mon" Yang gasp. "There's no reason to get so bent out of shape here! Why are you thinking like that?"

The ginger shifted uncomfortably in her seat, knowing that she could easily clear things up, but was hesitant to do so. She then glanced up at Pyrrha, who was giving her a soft understanding look, as if she understood exactly what she was thinking.

"It's up to you" she said gently.

Nora looked between her teammate and the others, who were now paying close attention, as there was a visible shift in tone. She finally sighed deeply, breathing in and out from her nose, and began to speak once more.

"Ren and I have been together since we were kids. Yeah we grew up together, but not like we were neighbours or something like that. We're orphans, and we first met in his village called Kuroyuri. I lived on the streets, and Ren and his dad found me when I was being bullied by some local kids. After that, the village was attacked by Grimm, and we were the only ones left. Since then, we've been together, looking after one another, and promising that we would become Huntsmen together. He's more than a friend to me, he's been my one and only family, but I've felt even more for him for a long time. I can't tell him because I can't imagine my life without him. If he doesn't like me like that, or if him knowing what I really feel makes things super awkward, I'm scared I'll lose him. I don't know what I'll do if that happens."

When she finished speaking, the others stared at her in mute astonishment. Of all possible explanations, this was not one that any of them had assumed would be the case. A wave of guilt washed over them after learning of the tragic truth, robbing them of any possible reply. They had all gone into this conversation believing it was just normal girl talk about boys, but this was a horse of a different colour. This caused an awkward pause to materialize, but thankfully was broken by Pyrrha, who reached over and took her friend's hand gently.

"I've only known Ren for a short time" she said with all the tenderness of a saint, "but I think I know him well enough that he would never leave your side because you have feelings for him. And I think deep down you know that too, Nora."

Nora looked up at the redhead, and squeezed her hand.

"I know but...I just don't want things to change" she groaned in tired desperation. "I mean I do, but not if it means losing what we have. I want things to remain exactly as they are, having the same relationship, just with...kissing and stuff."

"Well...your relationship with him _would_ naturally change if you both cross the line between friends and lovers" pointed out Blake, choosing her words carefully.

"I disagree" countered Pyrrha. "Your boyfriend or husband _should_ be your best friend; or at least, a very close one. There is no way to have a happy and healthy relationship with your partner if you cannot get along passed physical attraction. You shouldn't have to hide things from your best friend after all, so why would you with your spouse? I was told a long time ago that knowing if someone is right for you, is if you respond to them with your heart, your mind, and your body. It's not an exact equation, and it doesn't have to be divided perfectly three ways, but they _all_ need to be present for the relationship to work. Now tell me Nora, what do you feel for Ren with your heart?"

The ginger paused for a moment, feeling very shy saying the truth in front of her friends, but realizing the advice Pyrrha had just given her, she pushed past it.

"I love him with all my heart."

"And with your mind?" Pyrrha continued, smiling at her friend's response.

"The way he treats me, always putting my needs before his, promising to protect me, his conviction in becoming a Huntsman and making sure that we would never go hungry again. His kindness, his patience, his bravery, and how he understands me so well without even talking; I know he's all I could want in a man."

Pyrrha smile grew with a hint of mischievousness.

"And with your body?"

Nora's cheeks darkened, but she couldn't help herself from smiling.

"Well, it's only fair that I check him out if he keeps checking me, right?"

The redhead giggled and squeezed the ginger's hand. "Then stop worrying and make him truly yours" she encouraged. "And we can go on that double date before summer vacation begins."

Nora squeezed back. "Thanks, Pyrrha" she replied.

While not all of her anxiety had been alleviated, this conversation with her teammate did give her some clarity, and hope that things would be alright.

"Any time."

"Hang on" interjected Yang. "Why am I a pervert for bringing up getting in bed with your boyfriends, but _you're_ not for bringing it up right now about Ren and Nora?"

"Because there is a world of difference between speaking of sexual intercourse like an overly hormonal teenager, and speaking on the matter like adults" Pyrrha replied calmly. "I didn't tell Nora to jump into bed with Ren, but to think about their relationship thoroughly and responsibly. They are not only my best friends, but my teammates, and I want what's best for them. See the difference?"

Team RWBY nodded, agreeing with her assessment. Yang on the other hand, pushed her lips to the left corner of her mouth, knowing that Pyrrha was indeed right, despite not wanting to admit it.

"Yes, _mom_ " she said at last, drinking from her iced coffee.

"Tee hee, more like big sis" commented Nora, wrapping her arms around Pyrrha, and hugging her tightly. Her words touched the Mistralese greatly, and she returned the hug with just as much passion.

"Just a moment" Weiss broke in, placing her iced coffee on the table she was seated at. "I don't want to come across as heartless, but I need to clarify what you said. You and Ren grew up on the streets?"

"Yeah" Nora replied, not showing much sadness in the fact. "With Ren when we were eight, and as far back as I can remember for me."

"That's...horrible, and I truly am sorry for the both of you. Once more, I don't want to sound cruel or unsympathetic, but how did you both enter Beacon without graduating from a Primary Huntsmen Academy?"

"Yes, you never did explain to me how you did that" commented Pyrrha casually.

"You knew?" asked Weiss in shock, Blake remaining silent.

"Of course" the redhead replied, not mentioning Jaune as it was his choice to share the truth of his acceptance to the academy. "So how did you enter?"

Sitting up properly after letting go of her teammate, the ginger answered her friends.

"Ren handled it, so he would be better to explain it than me, but we basically just filled in the paperwork as best we could. Ren said that since the village was destroyed, there wouldn't be any way for them to prove were lying anyways, and I guess it worked. We had our own weapons and had Semblances, so we could make it in. We filled in what we could, and made up what we couldn't. I don't remember my parents, but I do know that my name is Nora. My last name, 'Valkyrie', was just something that sounded cool that I saw in a poem from a book that Ren bought to teach me how to read. I decided to make my own symbol, the hammer, copying Ren's lotus, since I thought it would help and it would be cool to have. Even my birthday, January 20th, is made up. Ren and I think I'm seventeen, well, eighteen now, but we're not sure either. So yeah, that's how we did it."

Team RWBY gazed at the hammeress silently, unsure of what to even say. Ruby and Yang felt pangs in their hearts for Ren and Nora, as they had experienced similar things in their lives. Neither of the Xiao Long sisters remembered their birthmothers. Yang remembered her step-mother, Summer, but not too much more than Ruby, as both their mothers died in strange circumstances when they were very young. Raven, her birthmother, which she learned from her Uncle Qrow muttering while drunk years ago, was killed only two days after she had given birth to her. It was truly cruel and unfair to the girls, to lose their mothers before getting to know them, but it was also a blessing, as the one most hurt was their father, Taiyang, who knew them first as teammates, then friends, and then lovers. The pain was so great, that he chose to never speak of his late wives, leaving his daughters with a mountain of questions.

Weiss could only feel pity for the two, as her parents were still alive, and she had lived an incredibly comfortable life in one of the richest families in the world. The very fact that Nora hadn't received even basic schooling, and she and Ren had to learn on their own, showed just how much more they had to struggle. Blake on the other hand, was in a rather tight bind. She too had falsified her transcript to enter Beacon to protect herself after fleeing from the White Fang for what happened in Mantle. She had no negative feelings towards them for cheating, obviously so, instead felt just as much pity for them as Weiss did. What made her so anxious however, were her own secrets that rested atop the guilt of lying for long. They were being honest, while she was not, causing Pyrrha's words to pierce her like arrows: _"You shouldn't have to hide things from your best friend after all, so why would you with your spouse?"_

All of these thoughts were occurring simultaneously, leaving the Huntresses-in-training in an extended pregnant pause, causing both Pyrrha and Nora to notice the expressions on their faces.

"Is there anything wrong with them forging their transcripts?" asked Pyrrha cautiously, admittedly doubly biased as her friends, and her boyfriend, had done just that.

She was of course someone who respected the rules, but she was also someone who deeply valued character, and the characters of her _entire_ team, were wonderful. She would gladly drag her own name through the mud for them, but knew that Huntmaster Ozpin wouldn't fight with her if she argued for them all to remain at the school.

"No, of course not!" replied Ruby.

"Yeah, who cares?" added Yang. "And we won't tell anyone." Blake nodded in agreement, as she knew that anything else would be grossly hypocritical.

Pyrrha's and Nora's eyes then rested on Weiss, who had yet to speak. She was even more of a stickler for the rules than her Mistralese counterpart. Would she be able to let this go?

"Weiss?" the redhead asked, her face saying more than her words. That intent was clear as day to the heiress, who sat up straight in her chair, and looked back with a cool and measured expression.

"Do you think so little of me that I would betray my friends?" she asked directly, though not in an insulted tone. "I said nothing about Blake being a Faunus and a former White Fang member, because she's my friend and a good person. So are Ren and Nora, and I will carry their secret to my grave."

The ladies of Team JNPR blinked in surprise, not expecting her to be so verbose. However, that was exactly how Weiss was; direct and clear, despite utilizing a more extensive lexicon. She valued the same things that Pyrrha did, and would hold fast in her beliefs, giving Ren and Nora the same treatment as Blake. Pyrrha smiled at the white-haired rapierist, pleased with her response. Nora was even more so, getting to her feet and hugged Weiss, who froze for a moment, before relaxing and returned the hug. Blake watched her friends hug it out, but was lost within her own thoughts as she processed what her teammate had just said. The guilt she possessed from keeping so many secrets had just tripled, and she knew that she couldn't suppress it for much longer.

"Thanks, all of you" the ginger said genuinely, smiling brightly at the girls before her as she sat back down.

"Think nothing of it" Weiss replied, with the others joining in. "However, I do have another question that I must ask. What do you plan on doing for the summer holidays?"

Nora, who had returned to her iced tea, blinked in confusion, removed her lips from the straw and swallowed audibly.

"What?"

"You said that you and Ren are orphans from outside the capital. Where then are you going to spend the summer months before the next school year begins?"

The ginger sat silently, looking back at the Atlassian girl, drawing a complete blank.

"I...haven't thought about it actually" she admitted, her face scrunching slightly like a child who got caught stealing a cookie before dinner. "I guess we'll stay at the school."

"Can you?" asked Blake, secretly planning to take advantage if it were possible.

"I don't believe so" Weiss replied. "I doubt that the Huntmaster would be willing to make an exception, for if we tell him the truth, could get you both expelled."

"Then Ren and I will camp out. We've done it before."

"Nora!" gasped Pyrrha at the absurdity. "You can't live out in the woods until the autumn."

"OK, a hotel then."

"For over two months?" pointed out Blake. "Can you guys even afford it?"

"Well, if we combine our cut of the prize money, we could" Nora suggested. "If not, then we can go on Hunts to make money."

"Students cannot legally accept Hunts until their senior year" informed Weiss. "And even then, they receive temporary Huntsmen licences from the school to do so, which I very much doubt you will be able to forge. Furthermore, if you _were_ successful, you would be caught instantly since your pay would be sent to the school Treasury; unless you go to the outskirts of the Kingdom were wiring money is much more difficult, and then be paid in liquid cash. Regardless, you won't be able to find a vacancy in Albion as they have been booked since last year for the Vytal Festival, on top of the fact that it is peak vacation season. Only the most expensive hotels would have rooms available, and you will be out of money in under a week."

Nora played with her cup uncomfortably, realizing just how caught she was between a rock and a hard place.

"We'll...figure something out..." she mumbled, not sure of what else to say.

"No" said Pyrrha, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. "What you and Ren are going to do, is come back with me to Argus, and you'll spend the summer with my mother and I; and every summer and winter holiday going forward until we graduate and you and Ren can get an apartment together."

Nora's head snapped up at this, and looked at the redhead in shock.

"P-Pyrrha...we can't–"

"Yes you can and you will" she cut in gently, smiling sweetly. "Tell Ren, and I will call my mother to let her know. Trust me, she will be more than willing to house the both of you, especially with how quiet the house can get when I'm away at tournaments, and now in Vale for school. And besides, you said that I'm behaving like a big sister. Well...family looks out for one another, right?"

The thunderess stared at the Mistralese champion in astonishment with her mouth open, her mind being blown away by this incredible act of kindness. Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes, and without another moment of hesitation, jumped into Pyrrha's arms and hugged her so tightly, that it was as if she were afraid that the swordswoman would be taken away from her.

"Thank you!" she cried, pressing her face into Pyrrha's neck, desperately trying to fight back her tears. Pyrrha mentally laughed at the sheer strength of the hug, impressed that Ren was strong enough to not be crushed. She felt just how relieved her friend was, and pulled her into a return embrace. "We owe you!"

"Anything for my friends. You don't owe me a thing" the redhead replied, cradling Nora until she calmed down.

Team RWBY quietly watched them, touched by the kindness of Pyrrha's generosity, and smiled contently at their sisterly moment. Blake, while also touched, was now struggling with her guilt once again, feeling spring's end drawing closer, and her time ticking away. 

λΛλ

It was late in the evening aboard the KAAS _Veðrfölnir_ , and her prisoners in the brig were sitting in their cell, feeling crushed by boredom trying to wear them down. Torchwick at least was making use of his time by going over his plans again and again, ironing out any wrinkles and feeling for chinks that he may have missed. Neo was napping against her father's shoulder, while Mercury and Emerald sat in silence, wanting to know why they were being left to rot in their jail cell.

At last, something new occurred. The sound of marching boots emerged out of the silence, as a pair of soldiers appeared before them with serious expressions on their faces.

"Stand up, Torchwick" said one as he pressed onto the panel on the side of the cell to shut down the barrier.

"Finally" he replied with a grin, and gently tapped Neo to wake her, who woke instantly. She looked between her father and the guards with worry in her eyes, which Roman did his best to sooth without speaking. He then rose to his feet and stepped forward, allowing the second soldier to bind his hands and feet. "Hopefully this won't take too long, but don't wait up for me if it drags into the unholy hours of the night" he added theatrically, before being forced to walk with the soldiers out of the brig, after the cell was closed once again.

When the soldiers left with Roman, Neo gripped her clothes tightly, fearing what would happen next. While she wasn't happy with the plan of leaving her father behind and going to Vacuo with Mercury and Emerald, she was even more fearful of what would happen to them if Roman failed to parley with the General. Would they all be taken back to Atlas, or would they be separated with no chance of freedom, as the Order were already operating outside of the rule of law. These thoughts scared her greatly, and she was visibly shaken. This did not go unnoticed by the others, Emerald especially, who then stood and sat beside the other girl, taking her hand and squeezing it. Neo looked up at her in surprise, but could see that Emerald was being genuine, and squeezed back appreciatively.

Mercury watched the both of them carefully, mulling over the situation and the potential consequences.

'You better know what you're doing, Torchwick' he thought, not liking his fate being in the hands of someone else, but knew he had no other choice.

λΛλ

Roman was brought to a room in a part of the ship he had seen many times before. It was where he had been interrogated when he had first been captured weeks ago, and he knew he was being taken there to be questioned once again. When the door was opened, there sat a plain metal table with three chairs; one facing the door and two with their backs to it. Roman was brought to the single chair and was made to sit upon it, before his restraints were then attached to the table which was fixed to the floor.

"Thanks a bunch, boys" he said to the two soldiers. "Make sure you come back to get me on time so I don't break curfew. I can't make my parents worry about me, ya know."

"Silver-tongued as always eh, Torchwick?" said a strong voice, causing the soldiers and their captive to look at the doorway to see Ironwood enter calmly, his arms behind his back.

"There's my favourite General" the gangster exclaimed, grinning playfully. "I have to maintain my skills even in confinement, after all. Did you miss me as much as I missed you?"

"Hardly" Ironwood replied, gesturing to his men with a quick tilt of his head, causing them to salute and leave the room. "I've been too preoccupied with wiping out your friends and their forces, and enjoying the lovely tournament" he continued, pulling the chair on the right and sitting upon it. "Instead, I could now use a break from all the paperwork you've caused me to deal with. So, let's try this again, shall we? I'm sure you've been brought up to speed by your cellmates."

"Yes I have, though I'm curious to know what happened to beastie boy and his pets?"

"Oh, Taurus? He left without a fight."

"Colour me shocked" Roman sighed sarcastically, causing Ironwood to chuckle. "And he didn't pay my fees."

"You have my genuine sympathies" the General replied. "You remained loyal to the end, never saying a word or giving us information regarding their plans. I respect that, which is more than I can say for your friends who showed no such regard for you, and ultimately left you to our mercy."

"Oh how will I ever recover from this?" the redhead answered, maintaining his sarcasm.

"Well you won't be going anywhere for the foreseeable future. With that in mind, why don't you share with us what else you might know about Cinder Fall and her allies? There's no real point to keeping quiet any longer, as they don't care about you, and will in fact try to kill you if given the chance; if you have any valuable information, that is."

Roman chuckled at that, as this was already setting the table for his own plans. Behind the mirror of the wall to his right, was an observing room where Huntmaster Ozpin, Deputy-Huntmistress Goodwitch, Qrow, Major Schnee, and Penny stood, watching and listening in to the interrogation.

"You think he'll talk?" asked Qrow.

"What other option does he have?" Winter replied. "He would be a fool to remain silent thinking She would send a rescue party."

"Indeed" added Ozpin, eyeing the gangster. "Torchwick is many things, but not a fool. He's thus far shown to be as crafty as a fox, allowing himself to be captured to later infiltrate the White Army. He is resourceful and cunning, making a great deal of sense to why he was scouted out by the enemy. How far could he climb if given the chance, I wonder?"

"Tell you what, Jimmy; can I call you Jimmy? I'll give you that keeping mum on what I know about the enemy would be dumb. But, it would be equally dumb to offer up that information without a substantial trade."

"Correct" admitted Ironwood. "However, this is not a simple situation we find ourselves in. We can't just offer you a plea bargain. Don't forget, you have a rap sheet a mile long from your years operating in the capital's underground, so under normal circumstances you would never be able to negotiate down your sentence with the hope of parole. Furthermore, you've decided to dip your toes into a whole new pond, moving up from organized crime, to terrorism, treason, endangerment of a civilian population by attracting Grimm hordes, grand larceny of military property, and aiding in the mobilizing of troops against a state without proper declaration of war. So you've moved from criminal court to military court, which gives me the legal power to do as I wish, as you've stolen _my_ equipment; in addition to the fact that given who Cinder Fall is, all of this is off the books anyways. I'm sorry to say Torchwick, but you're up shit's creek, especially since we doubt you even _have_ valuable information to trade in the first place."

Roman eyed the Atlassian General for a moment, before grinning at him.

"Trust me, Jimmy, I know quite a bit, _and_ I'm very aware what I've gotten myself into" he replied.

"Do you now?"

"Oh yes" Roman insisted playfully. "They say never to look a gift horse in the mouth, but fuck that. I made sure to get the ins and outs of my employers, so I've garnered a great amount of information that I'm sure that you will find most useful."

" _If_ you even have any, which I don't believe you do, as that level of information would not be shared with someone of your standing."

Roman simply maintained his grin.

"Come now, my dear General, you of all people should know the value of gathering intel before making any decisions; know thy enemy, and all that. Right, let's not beat around the bush. I'm fully aware of your Maiden's...chastity belt or whatever you call it, so I know _exactly_ what's going on here and what you're up to. My job was to get Fall and Taurus in position to attack Albion, take down the CCT, and kill Calico. I was to then play around with your toy robots in the meantime, and then when it was over, we part ways for good. I knew right away that I was going to be left high and dry by the end, so I took the proper precautions to keep me afloat when shit hit the fan. You're right that the information you want to know wouldn't be given to an expendable tool like me; so I just got that information on my own. So, shall we parley?"

Ironwood stared at the gangster with a great deal of caution. He certainly spoke as if he knew what he was talking about, and knowing the name of their Order was a large piece of evidence to that. However, what was he to gain from all of this? If he truly did have knowledge of the interworking of their enemy's plans, then he knew of its value. What could he want in return that was equivalent to it?

In the observation room, the rest of the Order was having similar thoughts.

"Does he actually know about Her and what's been going on?" asked Glynda, sounding as uncomfortable as Qrow and Winter looked.

"As I said, cunning and resourceful" echoed Ozpin, leaning forward and pressing a button beside a microphone. "Let's see what he wants, James."

His voice was transmitted to Ironwood's earpiece, giving him the green light to proceed.

"Let's. We shall be the ones to judge the value of whatever information you have, so let's start with what you want out of this. Remember, you're in a lot of hot water, and we're off the books here. Freedom is not on the table, so what do you want?"

"I never expected my freedom would be up for debate, but what I want is the release of the kids; no strings attached" Roman replied, straight-faced.

This took the Order by surprise, as it was nothing they had expected; which meant there _had_ to be a major catch to it.

"That is rather noble of you" Ironwood remarked, equally straight-faced. "So why would you of all people make a trade for their freedom over your own?"

"Because I'm just that kind of guy; a big softy deep down" the gangster replied with a toothy grin. "Those kids know nothing of what's going on. Sustrai, the green-haired girl, is just some petty thief; which I'm pretty sure you already know. The same goes for Black, who doesn't have the past of his father. He actually killed his father in self-defence, so he can be pardoned for killing an infamous assassin. Why set him on the path of his old man by making him a criminal with the charges you're leveling at me? The same goes for Neo, the mute girl. These are just kids with nowhere to go, taken advantage of by Fall, so they shouldn't take the fall for her; forgive my pun."

"We're fully aware of the first two, so you're assumption is correct. However, we also know that Neo, as you call her, is an associate of yours. We can argue for a lesser punishment for them, but not for Neo, as she very well could be sent back to your gang."

"No" Roman stated strongly, "all three; no charges or convictions or punishments. No strings attached of any kind. I'll take their place and give you the information you need, held indefinitely."

" _If_ you even have information of such value for us to being to consider accepting your demands" Ironwood retorted calmly. "We're going to need _something_ to work with here."

"Sure" Roman replied, leaning back in his chair and looking to the ceiling for a moment. "I've got one. If you kill Fall, her half of the Fall Maiden's powers will return to Calico."

This perked the ears of the Order, as it was the first piece of news they couldn't corroborate, but it was something that they alone were aware of being an issue; what would happen to the powers of a Maiden if they were divided, which they had believed to be impossible.

"And you know this as a fact?" questioned the General.

"Why do you think Fall was so desperate to kill Calico?" proposed the redhead rationally. "Her objective was Calico, and solely Calico. The tower would fall _after_ restoring the Maiden's powers."

Indeed this made sense, but Ironwood was never one to take things on their face. He eyed the gangster carefully, trying to decipher his body language, as well as what he had already said. Ironwood had devoted a great deal of time to Roman, spending hours over the course of the past several weeks interrogating and observing him. His reaction to Neo being excluded from the deal was what caught his attention most. Given she was one of his associates outside of Cinder's group, he would have more of a history with her, but what sort of history? She was rather young, and her having a past with Roman suggested that she had begun working with him at an even younger age. Just who was she?

In conjunction with Neo, was Roman's tone regarding Cinder, not only during this interrogation session, but every one previously. Pieces began to fall into place for Ironwood, and he decided to test his budding theory.

"You're afraid of Cinder Fall" he proposed more than accused. "That's why you agreed to work with her and remain quiet in my custody. Only at half power, and she was too much for a small time crime boss like yourself to fathom, so you caved. It's why Taurus, who loathes Humans, worked with you. I don't fault you for it, as finding out that such things as the Maidens being reality would rattle any man, but now I have to wonder if this is just a way for us to get rid of her for you."

He hadn't fully intended his comments to be so belittling, but he now felt that he had enough of the high ground to begin pushing Roman's buttons. Indeed, some buttons had been pressed, but not in the way that Ironwood assumed. Roman locked eyes with the White Army General with a surprisingly piercing glare.

"Not fear; a deep seated loathing" he replied steadily and coldly. "Let me be clear, I never had any intention of working with Fall; the same goes for Taurus. He couldn't _stand_ Fall, and as you can clearly see, fully expected this plan to fail. He criticized her plan for months, and it doesn't shock me at all that he retreated as soon as he realized that she had failed. I don't know what deal he was offered in the long run to join up with Fall, but I do know he respects her boss, so he isn't out of this game just yet. Fall needed us for her plan to work, and she came back to negotiate after we both told her to fuck off. In the end, she fucked up, so I'm not falling on the sword for her."

"And what were you offered to reconsider this partnership, if fear wasn't a key part?" Ironwood asked. "You say you loathed her, and yet you stayed loyal all this time. I'm sceptical of why you would go this far, both in faithfulness and in meticulousness in digging into Fall's overall plans to learn about the Maidens."

Roman remained steadfast.

"Because when she threatened to murder my daughter if I didn't help her, I had no choice" he retorted with venom on his tongue. "You keep using the word 'loyalty'. There isn't a fucking _ounce_ of love, respect, _or_ loyalty in me towards that fucking whore. I've imagined a thousand different ways to kill her, but I'm not stupid enough to think I can without her being unaware of the attempt, like killing her in her sleep. And maybe I'm a bit prideful, because I _want_ her to know it was me who killed her. Letting you know about the Maiden's powers returning to Calico allows us to both get what we want. I hate that I can't be the one to pull the trigger, but as long as I can be the one to call for her death and she knows it, that's good enough for me. So give her my regards."

The Order was now on full alert with the gangster's revelation. This finally explained Roman's behaviour entirely, from getting involved with these larger than life affairs, to never breaking under pressure, and now, to the identity of the girl named Neo.

"This gives us an incredible amount of leverage" Winter commented. "We could gather a vast amount of knowledge from Torchwick if he holds that much animosity towards Fall, as well as by keeping his daughter in our custody. The General finally got under his skin, and caused him to reveal this important secret. I knew he would make a mistake sooner or later."

"Don't get your hopes up" warned Qrow. "Torchwick's been too smart to fuck up now. We need to be careful on how we go about this, Oz. Let's take a break and go over our options."

"Agreed" Ozpin said, leaning forward once again to activate the microphone. "James, join us in the observation room. We have things to discuss."

Ironwood made no motion to leave, and continued to stare at Torchwick in silence. Penny, who was standing at attention, unconsciously tightened her fists as she looked at her General, sensing she knew what was wrong.

"James?"

The Atlassian Huntmaster remained silent for a few moments longer, before at last making moves to pause the interrogation.

"I see. You've given us a lot to think about, Torchwick, so we'll need some time to contemplate on it. Sit tight for a minute while I discuss with my colleagues" he said as he began to rise to his feet.

"I believe I said we shouldn't beat around the bush" Roman shot, his glare still razor sharp, and halting Ironwood. "You and I both know that you _don't_ have time. The ball is already in motion and you've been forced to make calls you never thought you'd have to this early. So let's cut the bullshit, and play ball. Do we have a deal?" He maintained his gaze with Ironwood as he extended his right hand, determined to get what he wanted.

"With all due respect, Torchwick, as someone who's been part of this for nearly twenty years, I don't think you know just how deep the rabbit hole goes" the General replied, trying to leave once again.

"No, Jimmy, _you're_ the one who doesn't know how far this goes."

The two men held their gaze in a deafening silence, neither having any intention of breaking or submitting to one another.

"James" Ozpin called again, finally getting his friend to fully stand.

"One moment" the General announced, turning his back to the redhead, and he reached for the door.

"Salem already has the Spring Maiden under her command" Roman fired directly, burrowing his eyes into Ironwood's back. This caused the Order to recoil, as this was something they had no knowledge of whatsoever.

Ironwood was the only one who remained composed, and he turned to face Roman once again. However, while he appeared unfazed on the surface, Roman knew that his revelation had shaken his captors.

"Yes, I know her name; though I like to call her Turkey-Head." Roman then paused as he saw a change in Ironwood's eyes, causing him to grin. "Oh Jimmy, don't tell me you haven't even _met_ her after nearly _twenty_ years of preparation. Well, she's not the talkative type, so I can't _really_ blame you. Anyways, the Spring Maiden has been serving Turkey-Head for over a decade, so if you _don't_ kill Fall, you'll be falling even further behind than you already are."

The silence returned, causing Roman to grin wider.

"What? Cat got your tongue, Jimmy? Eh, that's fine; I think I've had enough fun with you for now. How about we shake things up a bit?" The redhead turned his attention to the mirror, seeming as if he was looking through it. "The little bird of Branwen is watching us, isn't he? How about you tag out with him? I bet we would have _a lot_ fun chatting together."

"I very much doubt you would have anything to say to him" said Ironwood at last, not willing to give the gangster any more ground.

"I don'know about that...I think that he would like to hear what I have to say. After all, wouldn't _you_ want to know how your dear big sister has been doing?"

This piece of news was devastating. The members of the Order within the observation room turned to Qrow, who stared at Roman with muted anguish and torment.

"Qrow..." began Winter, but the macabre Huntsmen couldn't hear her, for his entire focus was on the grinning gangster.

"But if we go into the long hours of the night, which I don't doubt that we will, I'm going to need some cigars and whiskey" requested Roman, folding his arms like a customer at a restaurant. "Be quick and get some for me would you, Jimmy?"

Not a fan of being ordered around, Ironwood prepared to put his prisoner in his place, when the door opened to reveal Qrow.

"There he is" Roman said smirking. "Just as brooding as they say. Are you up for a chat?"

Qrow pulled the remaining chair that had its back to the door, and sat on it without breaking his harsh gaze at the gangster. He produced a glass and placed it on the table, before pulling out his simple flask and poured its contents.

"Give him a cigar, James" Qrow said coldly, sliding the whiskey to Roman, clearly not happy with any of this, but determined to talk with the redhead.

Ironwood hesitated for a moment, before slowly returning to his seat, and fishing out a cigar from his inside breast pocket. He then produced a guillotine-style cigar cutter and snipped the cap, which caused the gangster to sneer.

"I take back all the nice things I said about you" he remarked. "Straight cutting cigars instead of V-cutting like a heathen."

If things had been different, Ironwood would have laughed at this, but instead he reluctantly handed the cigar to Roman, who accepted it, and sniffed.

"Very nice aroma. Is this from Menagerie? Must be since no leaf grows like this anywhere else."

He stuck the cigar between his lips, as the General reached into his coat for his lighter, when to his surprise, saw Roman produce his own. Ironwood could have sworn that the man had been thoroughly searched for any weapons or tools, with even his hat being seized. How had he managed to conceal it, for while it was no larger than the average metal sparkwheel lighter, it wouldn't have been difficult to find on his person. Had he been keeping it hidden since his arrest, or had one of his three inmates given it to him? Of course, that begged the question as to how did _they_ get the lighter passed his men? Ironwood made a strong mental note to question those on duty to find out how this happened, though there were more important things to deal with at the moment. He watched the gangster press the flame against the foot of the cigar, allowing Roman to puff it to life, carefully rotating the cigar to make sure it was fully lit. Roman then took a draw and rolled the smoke in his mouth, retrohaling it out of his nose, before removing the cigar from his lips.

"I retract my retraction. This is a _damn_ fine cigar" complimented the gangster as he took up his glass, sniffing its contents appreciatively. "Mmm. So's this. Is that hickory I smell?"

"Are you done?" growled Qrow in a low voice, not in any mood for small talk.

"Just a moment" Roman replied, sampling the whisky and nodding his approval.

He then placed his glass onto the table and returned his cigar to his mouth, allowing him to extend his right hand between the two other men. Without breaking eye contact, Qrow paused for only a moment before shaking Roman's hand, accepting the terms. The ginger kept his hand extended, making it obvious he wanted Ironwood's agreement as well. With less resistance than everyone expected, James shook it.

" _Now_ I'm done" Roman said, smiling in satisfaction.

"Good" Qrow seethed as his friend let go of Roman's hand and leaned backward, while the Branwen heir leaned forward. "Now start talking..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a few things to cover. The first is, more fluff. I am sure you are all very excited. Again, I am not against fluff; I just want to do it in a way that also furthers the plot, which it does.
> 
> One of the things that I would say is a theme in this story, is strong relationships. I honestly wanted to differentiate DDCT from other fan-fiction, not simply by the quality of the writing itself, but by not being just typical fan-fic romance. Pyrrha's view on relationships, as is Weiss', are my own, so I took a great amount of care of how to implement it in the story. It was never meant to drag things out and blue-ball, so I made sure that the conversation between Pyrrha, Nora, and the girls, made things abundantly clear.
> 
> What it also did, was show more of what Ren and Nora's relationship truly is. Again, I am beyond disgusted with what CRWBY have done, and will do before the end of V8. I know I've whinged about this before, but the more I edit this story, the more I see the discrepancy between myself and the writers. Speaking of which, I was also able to show that the cast actually like one another, something that the show has failed to do for at least six volumes. Characters of any show or story should communicate, especially if they are meant to be friends. And given that they're teenagers, these are the conversations they should be having. Also, kinda important in developing their characters and the story overall, for it effects how it progresses. See? Never without a point.
> 
> And now to the big part of this chapter. Once again, our boy, Roman, is here to show he's large and in charge. I wasn't kidding that I had plans for him, and we are still only touching the surface; more to come :). I'll let the scene speak for itself, and you will have to wait for when the consequences begin to bear fruit.
> 
> Is there anything else I need to address? Oh yeah, we've just hit 200k words! Another milestone. And guess what? We've still got a long way to go. Cheers, thanks for reading, see you next time, and brace yourselves for the return of V8. They are going to dangled Pyrrha's corpse in our faces again, I just know it; maybe we'll get Grimm Pyrrha or Grimm Arkos. My prediction stands with the deaths of Ironwood, Jacques, Oscar, and Ren; right after CRWBY ruin his relationship with Nora further, of course.
> 
> Gods help us all -_-


	16. The Point of No Return

The following day was a long one for the young Huntsmen-in-training. Not in the sense of having so much to do, but rather in having to wait. Jaune and Pyrrha were both very excited to finally be going on their long awaited date, but that would not be until four in the afternoon, which was when the film they were going to see would show. They were then left with many hours of free time to prepare, but mostly to overthink everything that they could. They were each in their respective rooms, surrounded by their friends, fussing over what they would in time realize was wasted energy, and laugh at.

Jaune stood before his full length mirror, wearing a tight fitting aqua blue polo, tucked into a pair of tan trousers, and leather plain toe bluchers that matched his belt. The confidence in his choice of attire when he purchased it at the shop the day before, was now waning as the final minutes ticked away. Should he have gone with a darker shade of blue? Were the shoes too much? Should he have gotten a haircut? None of these thoughts had ever crossed his mind when he arrogantly chased after Weiss, nor when he designed his new armour. That had all come as easy as breathing, but now, every little detail felt as major as a mountain. He was visibly anxious, to which his friends, Sun and Neptune who sat on his bed and Ren on his own, could no longer hold back their comments.

"Dude, _breathe_ " Sun remarked.

"Yeah, you just showered and changed into those; don't ruin them with sweat before the date even starts" added Neptune.

"Yeah, save the sweating till _after_ the date, if you catch my sand drift" the Faunus grinned.

"I know I know" replied Jaune, sighing wearily, though not hearing the second part of Sun's comment. "I look decent, right? We didn't make a mistake here with this combo?"

"I'm the one who picked it, so no" Neptune insisted, speaking from experience. "It's perfect for your mild summers, and classy enough for a date at the restaurant you picked."

The blond swordsman sighed again and adjusted his belt, returning his attention to his reflection.

"I just want to look good for her, y'know? I won't look out of place next to her, will I?"

"No more than you usually do" Ren assured.

This caused the Vacuans to burst into laughter, as Jaune turned to look at his friend in bewilderment. The expression on the blond swordsman's face spoke louder than words, saying both "Are you kidding me?" and "What in Remnant did I do to warrant such insult?".

"OK, tell me Ren, when's _your_ date with Nora, huh?" he shot back. "Got an ETA on that? In the meantime, if you don't have anything nice to say, say nothing."

Ren looked back at his captain in amusement, not meaning to actually insult him, but merely tease to ease the tension.

"Think about it. She saw you in your long pyjamas and a dress, and she has only fallen for you more" he said more supportively. "You have nowhere to go but up."

"Exactly" said Sun snapping his fingers and pointed at the raven-haired young man appreciatively, before turning his attention back to Jaune. "That dress stunt was incredible, by the way."

"You may not think it, but you know what you're doing" added Neptune with a nod. "Just go and have fun. You and Pyrrha deserve it."

Jaune looked at his friends silently, before finally nodding in acceptance.

"Thanks, guys. I'm just nervous. I want everything to go right. I could never forgive myself if I mess things up again."

"Unless you blow her off or try to get frisky when she doesn't want you to, you're golden" Sun reassured. "Are you planning something after the movie, cuz it sounds like there's more than a dinner date?"

Jaune pulled up a chair and sat so he could face all of them, and scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, actually" he admitted. "There's a lot of stuff she and I need to talk about before we start dating for real. She's my friend and my lieutenant, and we're going to be working together, not just for the next four years, but for many decades before we retire. If this goes as well as I think it will, then marriage is a very strong possibility. Either do it right or not at all. It's not sexy but I have to; to be fair to both her and myself."

The others watched him with both awe and respect. Jaune had shown an incredible amount of restraint with Pyrrha since the Beacon Dance. Their time alone together, where they could have easily had given into passion, something that Pyrrha undoubtedly had been made to wait to enjoy, they shockingly never did. Everyone expected for them to just be teenagers and have fun, but they instead took their relationship with the utmost seriousness. Jaune and Pyrrha respected one another greatly, and it showed, which only reinforced the final assessment their friends had come to: they were in love with one another, and they were made for each other.

"Like I said" Neptune repeated with a proud smirk, "you know _exactly_ what you're doing."

The swordsman looked up at the blue-haired Huntsman-in-training, and smirked back thankfully.

"We'll see."

"That reminds me" announced Sun. "Where's your wallet, Arc?"

"On the dresser, why?"

Sun jumped off the bed and walked to the other side of the dorm room, picking up the wallet and fished out what clearly was a condom.

"Just gonna put this here..."

"H-Hey!" shouted Jaune, his cheeks flaring up as he rose to his feet. "What are you doing?"

"Just in case."

"It's the first date, and didn't you hear me say that we're gonna be talking about important stuff? Who knows when we'll do stuff like that" Jaune pointed out.

The others all looked at him incredulously, as they all expected that things were going to heat up between them when the less than sexy topics had been sorted.

"Just in case" Sun repeated, closing the wallet. "I can only fit one in here so make it count. The box will be here if you can get to it." He opened the top drawer of the dresser and dropped the condoms in it, closing it with a slap of his left hand.

"Pyrrha isn't the type to fool around on the first date, and neither am I" Jaune argued truthfully.

"Yes, but making her wait _this_ long, can make her do the unexpected. Maybe you're right, and maybe nothing happens, but if it does, better be safe than sorry" argued Sun folding his arms. "And besides, you said it yourself that if things go well, you think there'll be a future with her by your side. If she feels the same, and we all know she does, then that's one Hell of a way to start the summer."

Jaune bit the inside of his cheek in annoyance, not able to think of a counter that wasn't just repetition. Saying nothing, he turned his attention back to his reflection, and tried to fix his hair. He then heard the others chuckle, and wasn't going to pay them any attention, when he realized that Ren was chuckling as well, and he looked at his friend wide-eyed.

"Dude..." he said slowly, entirely baffled, "you've got _no_ leg to stand on here."

"Now _THEY_ are gonna fuck on the first date; or as soon as he confesses to her" added Sun with Neptune nodding, a large smirk on his face.

"I would have more self-restraint" began Ren, his cheeks turning red.

"Yeah, but I doubt she will" Neptune pointed out, causing the other two to laugh, and deepen Ren's blush. "And speaking of not keeping a woman waiting, looks like it's show time."

Jaune looked up at the clock and noticed the time, realizing that Neptune was right.

"Shit, right. Where's my stuff?" he asked himself, looking around. Sun tossed him his wallet, and Ren unplugged his Scroll, handing it to him. "Damn. I don't have a watch."

"Why? You have a Scroll" pointed out Sun.

"Hey, a watch is more than a time piece; it's an accessory" cut in Neptune, as he reached for his wrist. "Here, take mine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, no worries. Thankfully it matches the outfit" the Vacuan lieutenant insisted, handing it to him. "Just bring it back in one piece, OK?"

Jaune nodded as he accepted the watch, and fixed it to his own wrist. He looked at himself in the mirror one last time, trying to spot anything that was amiss, but was brought out of his scanning by Neptune heavily placing his hand on his shoulder.

"You look fine, Jaune. Don't sweat it and get Misery's Kiss. Just go and sweep Pyrrha off her feet; which you already know how well enough" he assured with a kind smile. "And remember: whatever you say can't be wrong if it's the truth."

The blond held gazed back at Neptune for a moment, before chuckling once through his nose, and held out his hand to offer a shake.

"Thanks, man."

"Anytime" Neptune replied, accepting his hand, but took his forearm in the warrior's manner.

"Right then, I'll be off. I'll be seeing you all later. Cheers" Jaune saluted to the other boys, and turned for the door.

"Go and get that Nikos booty!" called Sun playfully.

Jaune shook his head half annoyed and half chortled, and could only give the Faunus a thumbs up without looking at him as he opened the door and closed it behind him.

λΛλ

During the time that Jaune was fussing over his outfit, the girls were busily helping Pyrrha. Yang and Weiss had a field day going over which of the outfits Pyrrha would go with for the date, leaving the Mistralese champion nearly at their mercy. They had begun much earlier preparing for the date so they had as much time as they needed to get things perfect. Of course there was never enough time for such things, but they did their best.

"Are you sure you want to just keep your hair in a Dutch braid?" asked Yang for the third time, standing behind and to the right of the Mistralese, who was sitting at her vanity desk.

"Yes, Yang, I am sure" replied Pyrrha politely.

The redhead had decided not to overdo things for the date, taking care to heed Jaune's claim that the restaurant was not a fancy one. She of course was never one to overly fixate on her appearance, but she was wrestling with the desire to look as beautiful for Jaune as possible. Thus she decided to only change her hairstyle slightly; removing her circlet, and keeping her hair up in a ponytail, but in a single Dutch braid. 

"It does look nice, all things considered" added Weiss, standing on the other side. "Although, we could have gone to a salon."

"That's what I was saying" agreed the blonde. " _And_ we could have gotten your nails done there too; two birds with one stone."

Pyrrha had resisted going to a hair salon, again stressing that she did not want to go overboard. She had done the same regarding her nails, but conceded to Weiss, allowing her to paint them in a simple dark red with a cream finish.

"I'm happy and grateful with what we decided to go with, thank you" Pyrrha assured.

"At least let me do some more makeup" insisted the Atlassian. "You've only let me do the bare minimum, and you refused any lipstick."

"Thank you, but it's only a simple date, Weiss. We're going to see a film, then eat at a little restaurant" Pyrrha said, politely standing firm. "And besides, I'm not overly fond of makeup. I wore very little at the Dance, and we have already exceeded that amount this afternoon."

"But you're a celebrity, aren't you?" Yang pointed out. "You're used to wearing lots of makeup."

"Well, yes I have worn makeup for interviews and photo shoots, however it was handled by the makeup artists of media companies that requested those interviews, whether they be news outlets or magazines; entertainment, fashion, sports, and the like" Pyrrha informed. "Personally, I don't take the time to invest in it. It doesn't seem all that important given our profession."

"Yes, but we all need down time; which is what you are doing right this moment" Weiss pointed out.

"I don't think Jaune cares" Nora chimed in, lying on her stomach upon her bed. "You've seen the way he looks at her. He already thinks she's the most beautiful girl in the world, so makeup isn't gonna make or break anything."

"Exactly. Thank you, Nora" Pyrrha said smiling.

"Fine fine. We'll drop the makeup" sighed the older Xiao Long sister. "Let's go over your clothes. Stand up and face the full length mirror."

Doing as she was told, Pyrrha rose from her chair and stood before her mirror. Taking bits and pieces of advice from the others, she had chosen a simple outfit for the date. She wore a cacao coloured long sleeved blouse, a matching short knife pleated skirt, and black pantyhose tucked into leather booties with one inch heels. It had been a bit of a debate between herself and her friends on what to wear. Pyrrha had always dressed more conservatively, especially in comparison to some of the other girls in her circle, who now tried to convince her to loosen up, given she was going on a date. She had been alright with wearing a mini-skirt, as she already did so in her combat attire, but her thigh-high boots and armour, had made it more proper. Pyrrha's blouse had been the same situation, showing no more cleavage than her normal Huntress armour allowed. Yang was taking exception to that. Furthermore, Yang and Weiss had suggested her wearing the skirt and booties to show off her legs, and Pyrrha only agreed to it if she could wear pantyhose. The booties had been another moment of contention during their shopping spree, as while Pyrrha truly loved them, was worried about the heel. She hadn't voiced her reservations about her height to anyone other than Nora, which thankfully worked in her favour, as the ginger had rightfully pointed out there was no point worrying about being tall and it turning Jaune off. They were going on a date after all, so if she liked them, and they accentuated her legs and butt, then she should buy them.

"Nothing appears out of place?" Pyrrha asked.

"You look great!" complimented Ruby with a smile, sitting cross-legged on the redhead's bed.

"Yes" added Blake with a small smile of her own. "It's a very nice outfit."

"Yeah, it's super cute!" Nora joined in, giving her teammate a double thumps up.

"It's respectable" nodded Weiss.

"Hmmm" hummed Yang, eyeing Pyrrha from head to toe. She then snaked her arms around the redhead's waist, and tugged on the blouse so that much more cleavage was on display. "There we go."

"Yang!" gasped Pyrrha, clutching her chest.

"What?"

"That's far too much! I chose this outfit in order to _not_ be so revealing" argued the Mistralese champion, her cheeks flushed.

"But you're going on a date, Nikos. _Don't_ you want him to check you out?" the blonde pointed out. "And besides, you _should_ show them off tonight. That armour of yours hides how big they really are, so how about you surprise him?"

Pyrrha's face turned redder, looking back at the mirror once again and making sure that her blouse was positioned correctly, lessening the cleavage.

"I will not say it again" she answered sternly. "This is our first date. We are going to enjoy ourselves at the cinema, and then we are going to have a serious conversation about dating, as well as other topics that we need to go over. That is all."

Yang stared at her friend incredulously, not understanding why she was being so difficult. Her eyes then dropped to Pyrrha's lower back, and she lifted the end of her blouse.

"Well if you don't want to show off your boobs, then you should at least show off your ass. It's also bigger than you'd think thanks to your armour, hair, and shield, and this skirt shows it off well, along with your hips." 

Pyrrha's hands flew to her behind, and looked again at the blonde in embarrassment and frustration.

"I don't get why you're so uptight about this" Yang remarked, cutting ahead of the redhead's protests. "This is supposed to be a date, and you're taking it more seriously than a funeral. Since this _is_ your first date, let me tell you how it's supposed to work. You're supposed to enjoy yourself, relax, talk, check out your date, let him check you out, and see if there's a connection. You said so yourself that physical attraction is important for a healthy relationship, so what's wrong with showing off your body to Jaune to see if he's as attracted to you as you are to him?"

Once again, Yang's fiery behaviour turned into sound, good hearted advice, causing Pyrrha to feel guilty for reacting the way she had.

"I'm sorry, I'm just nervous" she apologized.

"Why?" asked Blake genuinely. "You and Jaune are effectively together, so why are you stressing over this?"

"Pyrrha thinks Jaune is the One" informed Nora with a smile. "And I think so too, so tonight is going to be all or nothing."

The others all looked at the nervous redhead in surprise. Every one of them knew that the couple had strong feelings for one another, and they felt that Jaune and Pyrrha had honestly dragged out the solidification of their relationship. However, to hear that Pyrrha felt that Jaune was the one she wanted to marry, and felt certain of that at only the age of seventeen, was shocking. The idea itself wasn't outrageous, as the others all expected in time that would be the case. It was hearing it aloud that gave it so much more weight.

"Are you certain?" asked Weiss, the only one other than Pyrrha that took marriage that seriously.

Pyrrha looked up at the white-haired swordswoman timidly.

"Yes..." she replied slowly, "I know that sounds strange, especially given our age, but after spending as much time as we have together, I've begun to see the true Jaune. Ever since he's taken his training seriously, his best qualities have shown through, and they've only made me fall deeper in love with him. His values are the same as mine, and his view on marriage is just as serious. He's everything I've been looking for."

The certainty in her voice took everyone safe Nora and Weiss aback. Nora had spoken enough with Pyrrha privately to know how earnest she was on the matter. She was also in the very same boat, as she knew that she would marry Ren, and had known for a long time. Weiss was obviously different, not having known Neptune for as long as Nora knew Ren, and she hadn't spent as much time with him as Pyrrha had with Jaune. However, she did share Pyrrha's mentality when it came to marriage, and how important it was to choose partners carefully. It was why she too had been taking her time, not rushing to cross any lines until she knew for certain that Neptune was the one she would invest her time and energy into. There were obviously more criteria and requirements to dating that she needed to adhere to that her friends did not, but that was her business for the time being.

"Then you have no reason to be afraid or to be anxious" the heiress said softly, smiling gently at her friend. "I've watched how you two behave, and everyone here can attest that you were both made for one another. Jaune has clearly articulated that he values you tremendously, along with how he has emphasized the importance of waiting for this date. You look wonderful, so stop fretting and go enjoy yourself. Understood?"

Pyrrha stared at Weiss for a moment, before smiling in gratitude, and hugged her graciously. There was something profound hearing Weiss of all people voice her support, as Pyrrha had unfortunately developed a small fire of bitterness towards the heiress when she had Jaune's attention. She had always felt guilty for that, and thankfully the jealousy had faded away with Jaune asking her properly to the Dance, and then to this very date. How quickly things had changed, and certainly for the better.

"Thank you, Weiss" she responded, truly appreciative to the Gods for having such dear friends.

"Think nothing of it" the Atlassian replied, hugging her back.

Yang watched the pair embrace one another, and folded her arms, bereft of speech. These were the moments that she really couldn't comment on, as she always found it hard to tease when things turned serious. As hard-headed as she was, she wasn't so dense as to not realize there were moments where her usual behaviour was inappropriate.

"Geez" she sighed, shaking her head. "Fine, we'll do it your way." She then paused for a moment, and tilted her head to the right. "What underwear are you wearing, by the way?"

Pyrrha let go of Weiss and looked at Yang in confusion.

"Regular. Why?"

"Define 'regular', as for you, that's strapless bralettes and those granny-panty boxer things" the blonde pointed out. "I get it, you're an athlete, it makes sense most of your underwear is that type, but you've got some sexy ones, right?"

"No, but I do have regular bras and underwear; which are what I am wearing now. Why?" Pyrrha replied cautiously, blushing at the question.

"If things get hot tonight, do you _want_ to be wearing unsexy underwear?"

The redhead blushed deeper at the comment, and internally groaned as once again, Yang reverted back to her more perverted mindset.

"This is why we think you are a pervert, Yang" she said in a measured voice.

"Why? You said yourself that Jaune's the One, so why not start this summer off with a bang?" the blonde remarked, grinning at her pun. "Don't tell me you're the 'wait till marriage' type?"

"I am."

"In _our_ profession?"

"That isn't enough to abandon my principles or my religious protocol!"

"You said he's the One, so why wait if you get the confirmation you're looking for tonight?" Yang rationalized. "Did you shave?"

"Well...yes" Pyrrha replied, though feeling as if the question had come out of nowhere. "I'm wearing pantyhose because I don't want to reveal a lot of skin, not to hide the fact I didn't shave my legs."

"No, I mean did you _shave_?"

"I'm not going to sleep with him on the first date!" the redhead cried. "Did you not pay attention to anything I said?"

"You never know."

"Yang!"

"You _never_ know. Also, you don't _have_ to bonk him, since they're _other_ things you can do; your mouth for instance. It ain't just for kissing."

"Just ignore her" sighed Weiss, placing a hand on Pyrrha's shoulder.

"Hey, you can think that I'm a pervert all you want. But if _I_ was that in love with a guy, and he made me wait this long, damn right I'd jump him" defended the brawler, before turning her attention to the ginger, who was grinning at all of this. "Isn't that right, Nora?"

The hammeress' grin quickly faded as her cheeks turned red from the comment.

"And this ladies, is _exactly_ why I don't talk about this stuff with my sister" remarked Ruby with a sigh.

Her elder sister turned to look at her with a smug smirk on her face, and walked over to the bed she was sitting on. She crouched down so that she was level with Ruby, and looked her right in the eye.

"The day will come when you will meet a cute boy, and _then_ you'll come crawling to get my advice" she said confidently.

Without hesitation or breaking eye contact, Ruby replied.

"Think _you'll_ have a boyfriend by then?"

Yang's smugness instantly turned to wide-eyed annoyance as the room filled with laughter from their friends, and she lunged at her sister, fully intending to teach her a lesson. Ruby had expected this from years of sibling teasing, and used her Semblance to dash backwards, bounce off the wall, slip under the bed, and reform behind Weiss and Pyrrha. The blonde slid across the top of the bed trying to catch Ruby, and twisted around to lock onto her.

"Get back here!" she shouted.

The younger Xiao Long sister stuck her tongue out at her, prompting her sister to jump off the bed, and was about to lay down some big sister fury, when a knock on the door caused all the girls to freeze.

"Pyrrha? It's me" came Jaune's muffled voice from the other side of the door, causing the redhead in question's heart to skip a beat.

"Y-Yes! I'm ready!" she called turning one last time to her friends. "Is everything alright with my outfit?"

"You look perfect" Weiss insisted, handing the nervous Mistralese her purse. "Just breathe and enjoy yourself."

The others all joined in with their support, encouraging Pyrrha, making her smile, and allowing her to walk to the bedroom door to meet Jaune. She opened the door to reveal the slightly nervous blond, brandishing a new set of clothing that complemented him greatly. The shirt especially matched his eyes, hugging his form and showing off the physique he had worked hard on for the past year, as well as his muscular arms. It was certainly a sight that Pyrrha could get used to. Jaune too checked out his date, and couldn't suppress a smirk that he had been right that she looked amazing in anything.

"Hey" he said, maintaining his smirk.

"Hey" she replied, smiling warmly at him.

"You look ready...and amazing."

"Thank you, so do you."

"Stop dawdling and go before you miss the film" Weiss warned, pushing Pyrrha from behind to usher her out the door.

"And don't come back until you're officially boyfriend and girlfriend!" called Nora, grinning from ear to ear.

Before the couple could say anything back, Weiss shut the door, leaving them alone in the hallway. There was a momentary pause as they looked at one another with their cheeks dusted pink, before Jaune cleared his throat.

"So...shall we?" he asked, offering the crook of his right arm.

Pyrrha smiled at his gentlemanly behaviour, and accepted the gesture graciously.

"Yes, we shall" she replied, walking in tandem with her date towards the exit of the dormitory building, both feeling nervous and excited for their long awaited date.

λΛλ

It was now late in the afternoon as Jaune and Pyrrha emerged from the movie theatre arm in arm, walking away at a calm pace.

"Well that was pretty good" Jaune remarked.

"It was" Pyrrha agreed with a smile, which the blond breathed an internal sigh of relief, as he wasn't sure if an action film had been the best choice. It was a period piece, which he had hoped would catch her interest as much as it caught his, and he was glad that his assumption had been correct. "Though the fight choreography could have used more work."

"Yeah, I noticed that too" Jaune admitted. Thanks to both his upbringing and months of training with Pyrrha, the swordsman could now easily tell the difference between an attack aimed at an opponent, and an attack aimed at an opponent's weapon. Furthermore, he could tell when the swords were dull props, with their edges being rolled, and the points were rounded. It was all understandable of course, as real swords in the hands of actors would result in terrible injuries, but it nevertheless was detected by the couple, and was a point of criticism. "But those were the best fights I've seen in a while."

"Hmmm, that's true. However, there were several moments across all the battles where both the heroes and the villains could have landed devastating blows, though they chose not to. Equally, there were moments that either should have continued to apply pressure when an opening was presented or created, and there was no follow through. And then there was the dropping of guards and never taking a proper stance, the failing to capitalize when getting into a bind, which every film with sword combat does..."

"Alright professor, if you have such a problem with the fight scenes, why don't you offer your services to the movie industry to teach actors how to fight?" Jaune ribbed playfully. "And didn't you get into several binds during the tournament and _didn't_ take advantage of them?"

Pyrrha's cheeks turned pink, realizing that he was right.

"W-Well, I was going up against my mentors, and I had every right to speak to them" she defended, diverting from the secret reason as to why she had wanted to speak to Olivier and René.

Her response caused the blond to snicker, and squeeze her arm.

"You're so cute when you're embarrassed" he teased.

"Jerk" she pouted, slapping his arm lightly, which only made the blond snicker louder. "I've been offered movie roles before."

"I can believe that" he replied. "You never accepted them though."

"No. It was nice of them to consider me for their films, but I would much rather focus on my training" she explained. "I did star in a couple of commercials, but nothing more. I'm not much of an actress anyways."

"You're certainly beautiful enough to be one, though" Jaune complimented, earning him a thankful squeeze from the redhead. "Now that I think of it, having Huntsmen act in movies so they could have better fight scenes without having to use strings and stuntmen would be pretty cool. Do they ever hire active Huntsmen?"

"I'm sure they have tried, and no doubt the fights would significantly improve. However I have a feeling that the camera operators would have trouble keeping up with a pair of seasoned Huntsmen. Also, would the average moviegoer be able to keep up with a fight at that level?" she mused, not trying to sound rude.

"Probably not. I had plenty of trouble keeping up with you and Olivier during the Singles Round" Jaune admitted. "But now that I think about it, Huntsmen should focus on the Hunt rather than movies, like you said."

"I agree" Pyrrha nodded. "So are we going to dinner?"

"Yup. Right this way" he said with a smile, leading his date down the city streets.

It was only a short walk from the cinema to the restaurant, as was Jaune's plan, and it was a rather nice establishment. It was an older building nestled in between two other properties, with the front being made of dark clay coloured wood with double hung paned windows. The name of the restaurant, The Thundering White Horses Tavern, was painted in gold letters above the double doors, just beneath a large wooden carving of eight white horses in full gallop. Jaune opened one of the doors for Pyrrha, letting her in first to see the warm and bright interior of the establishment. The tavern was fitted with polished wood floors, walls, and ceiling, with a dozen shaded branched chandeliers scattered across the inside. The tables were round bar types with wooden chairs and stools, leather love seats against the windows, along with tall stools lining up the impressive bar, which appeared to carry every commercially available liquor in Remnant. It was relatively full of patrons, which showed Jaune had made a good call by reserving days in advance. As they stood at the entrance of the tavern, a hostess greeted them with a smile.

"Welcome to the Thundering White Horses Tavern!" she said warmly. "Do you have a reservation or are you just walking in?"

"Reservation; under Arc" Jaune replied.

The hostess opened her leather-bound reservation book, with the current day marked with a red ribbon with gold trim, and instantly found his name marked at the top.

"Here it is. Right this way" she said, leading the couple through the tavern.

As they walked, both could feel the eyes of the other patrons on them, which was to be expected. Jaune himself was quickly gaining fame, though it was entirely for being Pyrrha's boyfriend. Initially it had been due to them going to the Dance together, then their handholding being spotted during the tournament, and then their moment in the spotlight when the whole world saw them in each other's arms after Pyrrha had won against Sun. They did their best to ignore them, and Jaune especially was grateful that he had reserved a table with privacy. The hostess began to walk up the quarter-turn staircase in the centre of the tavern, and continued to lead them up several more floors till they reached the top of the restaurant. The entire top floor was empty, but the hostess brought them to the large glass doors that opened to a veranda that had its own set of tables. One table was set, obviously meant for Jaune and Pyrrha, and the hostess left them to seat themselves as she returned inside to grab their menus.

As natural as it was polite, Jaune pulled Pyrrha's chair back so she could sit before taking his own.

"This is a wonderful place you chose" she said smiling.

"Yeah it is" he agreed. "I went looking for places near the cinema so I wouldn't have to drag you all over the city, and lucky enough I stumbled across this place. I hope the food is as good as the reviews say."

"I'm sure it is. Though I have to ask, did you reserve the entire top floor?"

"No, just the veranda. The top floor was just refurbished, and not everyone is aware that it's been reopened. Just another bit of luck, I guess" the blond explained. "But if I had to reserve the whole floor to give us privacy, I would have."

"Jaune, that would have been awfully expensive..."

"For you, absolutely worth it" he replied without hesitation. "I saw how much it bothered you to have reporters digging into our personal life, so I wasn't going to let them bother us on our night. I want this to be the best first date possible, and I value that more than money."

Pyrrha's cheeks flushed deeply at this, and she slid her hand across the table to take his, squeezing it appreciatively.

"I think you're worth it too" she said, giving him a coquettish look. Jaune smiled back, her beauty taking his breath away once again.

The hostess returned with a pair of menus, and told them that a waiter would join them shortly, giving them several minutes of privacy to choose their meal. Pyrrha quickly discovered that the restaurant had an impressive variety of options, including an assortment of wild game. After choosing what they wanted to order, they waited for their waiter to make his appearance, who then quickly took their menus away, and headed to the kitchen to inform the chef.

"That was a pleasant surprise" she remarked. "I wasn't expecting such a place to have a menu so old fashioned."

"That's not a bad thing is it?" Jaune asked worriedly, though kicking himself for realizing she had just said that it was a pleasant surprise.

"No, of course not. It certainly does match the aesthetic of the restaurant, given its age. I quite like it."

Breathing a sigh of relief, the blond grinned, and reached for his glass of water.

"That's good. I wasn't sure if I should go for a Mistralese restaurant or not, to give you a taste of home, but then I figured that you'd probably want to try something more Valian. Then when I tried that Gyro thing and you said your mom made them better, I felt better that I picked a place that wouldn't leave a bad taste in your mouth; no pun intended."

"That's very thoughtful of you" she replied, smiling sweetly. "I'm sure the food will be delicious."

"I hope. The menu is more like what I grew up eating, and the photos online look pretty spot on, but I guess we'll learn soon enough."

The couple began to make small talk as they waited for their meal, though they both knew that it was just to kill time before they would get to the meat and potatoes of the date. Thankfully they didn't need to wait too long, as their waiter appeared with their meals, and laid them before the couple. Pyrrha had chosen a pheasant dish with mushrooms in a wine sauce, and Jaune had chosen wild boar sausages marinated in a house lager, with a side of roasted potatoes and carrots.

"This looks wonderful" complimented Pyrrha graciously. "I'm shocked it was made so quickly."

"Our head chef is a talented man, and will be delighted to hear your approval, Miss Nikos" the waiter said with a bow. "Please enjoy your meal."

As the waiter walked away, the pair tucked into their food. Pyrrha sampled some of her pheasant, and hummed happily.

"This is lovely! How's yours, Jaune?"

The blond sliced a piece of sausage, and chewed it slowly before swallowing.

"I'm bias because I grew up eating lots of boar, so I think that my homemade boar sausage is better" he expressed, before stabbing a slice of potatoes and carrot. "But it's pretty damn close."

Pyrrha smiled at him as she took another forkful.

"You make your own sausage?" she asked, curious to hear more of her date's childhood.

"Yeah. We have our own livestock, but hunting is pretty big in my family, and I grew up hunting and butchering game. Lots of boar and lots of boar sausage" he replied with a hint of nostalgia in his voice. He looked up at the beautiful redhead before him, and could tell by the look in her eye that she wanted to hear more. 'Looks like it's time to get to it, huh?' he thought, not looking forward to what may or may not occur. "I guess we should start by getting to brass tacks. The tournament is finally over, which means we've got nothing stopping us from taking this relationship seriously. So ladies first. I want to know you properly; more than I already do. Not as Pyrrha Nikos the Champion of Mistral, but as Pyrrha Nikos from Argus. I want to hear more about you, and not something I could read in a magazine interview."

Pyrrha gazed at him carefully. 'That look in his eye' she thought. 'It's very much like it was at the fairground...'

She knew that this was the moment that their date would become serious, which despite the sobering language he was using, was meant to be respectful.

"Alright. I was born in Argus, and lived there my whole life with my parents. My father was Peleas Nikos, and my mother is Anthemya Nikos. They met at Helike University, and they fell in love at first sight. They got married right after they graduated."

"Really? That fast?" Jaune asked, surprised.

"Yes" Pyrrha answered with a warm smile. "My parents said the moment they met that they knew they would spend the rest of their lives together. My father would say that my mother was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, and how her smile was so bright and warm, that it would light up every room she entered. It was impossible not to fall in love."

"I can believe that" he remarked, unable to stop himself. "You've got a pretty breathtaking smile yourself."

The redhead cheeks flushed at his words, though she tried her best to keep herself steady.

"Thank you. My father was always a direct man. He always knew what he wanted, and when he set a goal for himself, he would work like a plough horse to achieve it. He earned a doctorate in history and religion, and quickly gained a teaching position as a professor at the very university he and my mother graduated from. He was a very studious man, but he also believed that one should be both a scholar and an athlete. While his first major passion was his faith, and his second was history, the third was combat."

"That's an odd jump, no offense" Jaune remarked, hoping he hadn't offended her.

Pyrrha giggled. "You are not the first to react that way. My mother did the same when they were dating, and mostly everyone else who first got to know my father. Mistral has a very active dueling culture, very much as Atlas does. We have proper dueling leagues, specifically designated for swordsmen, but we also have more leisured versions of the dueling leagues for historical re-enactments. It is here that people come together to train with historical weapons and armour, and compete against one another. My father was an active competitor, and he would even teach in his free time."

"Plough horse indeed" Jaune nodded respectfully, eating another piece of sausage.

"Speaking of which, he also took part in the jousting tournaments."

"He jousted?"

"Yes. He was rather good at it too. He loved every bit of HMMA, that's Historical Mistralese Martial Arts, and my parents would bring me to the tournaments he and his guild would participate in. From a very young age I was surrounded by Knights and warriors, weapons and armour, and it was something that I instantly felt a connection with. My mother then began to read fairytales to me, of princesses being rescued by Knights from monstrous dragons, warriors battling for their Kings and Queens, along with every other fairytale children grow up with. My mother is a linguist, and translates ancient texts at the university, so she would tell stories of the past that I'm sure most have never heard of. This fueled my love for HMMA, and at six years of age, I asked my father to begin training me."

"Really? That young?" Jaune asked in surprise. He had guessed she began training at a young age, certainly before going to Sanctum, but six was much sooner than he thought.

"I was very eager and determined" Pyrrha said smiling. "My father was very happy to see me take such a strong interest in the sport, and we began to train together, both at his guild and at home. I was too young to join the junior leagues, but after showing that I possessed great skill for my age, the Guild Master, a Koala Faunus originally from Menagerie named Damascus Shadrach, allowed me to officially enter. Although, given that Master Shadrach and my father were good friends, I think father twisted his arm a little. I quickly began to rise in the ranks, and before long I won my first tournament at eight years old. I remember how happy I was, and how proud I hoped I made my parents. But what I remember most is the advice my father gave me after my first victory. He said 'Pyrrha, never brag, as it makes it impossible for your mother and I to brag for you'. I took that piece of advice to heart, and I've done my best to adhere to those words, even after all these years since..."

Her voice trailed as her eyes dropped to her plate. Jaune felt a pang of sorrow in his chest, as he saw the pain in her beautiful emerald eyes, and knew why it was there.

"When did he pass?" he asked slowly, as he took her hand in the same manner she had taken his. She squeezed it tightly, before finally taking a deep breath.

"Seven years ago. He was away on a holy retreat to the northwest side of the Corpus Sea, helping build a new Starseeker temple. During the night, there was a Grimm attack, and in one of the houses that members of the retreat were living in, caught fire." Pyrrha's hand tightened further as she spoke, her voice beginning to shake. "My father saw that they were trapped, Grimm keeping them from trying to escape through the windows, and without hesitation, he went back to get them out. He distracted the Grimm just enough so that he could get passed them, and broke through the front door. Digging his heels, he stood his ground against the Grimm to give the others enough time to get to safety. My father was an incredible swordsman, but he wasn't a Huntsman..." she continued, swallowing audibly. "They were all armed, but they weren't Huntsmen, and the Huntsmen that went with them were too few in number to handle a horde of that size. When they told us the news, I couldn't believe it. My father, who was so strong and tenacious, dying...I just couldn't. At his funeral, I swore that I would become a Huntress, so that no one else would be taken before their time. I swore to all nine Gods of Light, that as long as I drew breath, I would fight. So I took part in every combative sport I could while at Sanctum, so that I would be the best."

Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes, and she reached to wipe them as they fell, when Jaune reached over with his right hand and gently did it for her. Pyrrha looked at him and saw his sad but understanding smile.

"I know how you feel. I lost my grandfather when I was a kid. He always seemed larger than life to me, so much so that I couldn't believe he suddenly became ill and passed away. I looked up to him greatly, and like you with your dad, I want to honour him. I obviously didn't know him, but from what you've said thus far, I think he would be proud of what you've achieved" Jaune said from the bottom of his heart. "And he'd be proud of the young woman you've become; I certainly am."

Though the tears had returned in full force, Pyrrha couldn't help but laugh, and she wiped away her tears quickly, a pained smile on her face.

"Thank you...I really hope so" she replied, gently rubbing her thumb against his. After a moment, she said, "He would have loved you."

Those words should have touched Jaune, humbling him greatly to think he could have gained her father's approval. However, part of him knew that the truth would be far less likely. He knew that now was the time to share the last secret he had been hiding from not only her, but everyone.

"I'm not so sure" he said at last, causing her to look up at him, confused. "Did your father value honesty as much as you do?"

"Of course" Pyrrha replied. "If you're referring to you forging your transcript to get into Beacon, I'm more than certain that after meeting you, he would understand just as I did."

"Except that I never did tell you why I lied to get into Beacon" the blond pointed out.

That point made Pyrrha pause, realizing that it was very much true. She fully knew and understood Ren and Nora's situation, but she wasn't even aware as to why Jaune wanted to be a Huntsman in the first place. Once again she looked at him with an expression that said she wanted to know more, leaving Jaune to take a deep breath of his own and speak the truth.

"I know what my Semblance is" he sighed.

The redhead blinked twice in surprise, as this wasn't what she had expected for him to say.

"I'm sorry, you know?"

"Yeah..." Jaune answered in a dejected voice. "It's called Majesty. I know what it is because it's a hereditary Semblance. It's nothing special; all it does is boost our physical strength and healing, which the latter I think you saw before. Because it's simple, we've been able to come up with practical and effective uses for it, which goes hand in hand with how my family is. We Arcs are very old fashioned; and when I say old fashioned, I mean _really_ old fashioned. We wear armour like the Knights of old, and carry swords, shields, and other melee weapons, feeling that it's more honourable to fight Man, Faunus, and Grimm that way. We come from a long line of Knights, with my great-great-grand-father being a captain of the King's Guard, so we've maintained that tradition after all this time. So a Semblance like Majesty, that lets us fight with the strength of a hundred men, withstand attacks that would kill the average man ten times over, to heal and keep fighting, is perfect for us. What we've developed over time are massive Aura reserves, and practice Aura manipulation. This lets us use Aura to sharpen our weapons beyond the true sharpness of steel, and even fire Aura at our enemies from our very weapons. All of this requires a lot of control and..."

"...is everything you're having trouble with" Pyrrha finished, now understanding everything the blond had meant during their training sessions.

"Right...which then brings us as to why I faked my transcript to get into the academy" Jaune continued, taking a sip of water before speaking again. "I'm an army brat. I wasn't born on a base, but my entire family has taken up military service. Even though we Arcs have Semblances and can control it and Aura at a young age, we don't become Huntsmen. We help them for sure, as Huntsmen get deployed alongside the Valian military to protect the Kingdom from Grimm, but because of my ancestor's position in the King's Guard, we've always felt that the best way to serve the Kingdom of Vale, was to fight in her army."

Pyrrha nodded, feeling as if the remaining pieces were finally falling into place. Jaune had used very specific words in the past regarding his embarrassment for lying to get into the academy; "stolen valour" being one of them. That was a term specifically for people who lied about their service, and it was one of the greatest insults towards active soldiers that one could think of.

"That was supposed to be my future as well, until it became clear that I wasn't good at much. Everyone usually awakens Majesty before they become teenagers, just before they start their training. I obviously didn't. No matter how much I tried, no matter how much time my father and uncles put into my training, I could never awaken it. And you know just how bad my Aura control is, so I don't have to go into it. By the time I was seventeen, it was pretty much a given that I was a lost cause. Everyone knew that I _had_ Majesty, but they couldn't understand why I wasn't able to awaken it. So my father decided that he had enough, and sent me for basic training at one of the bases in the north. My father is a Major, and to make sure that I wouldn't get an ounce of special treatment, he made a fake application and background for me, and made me dye my hair black. Obviously, I didn't make the cut. Out of shame for being unable to be an Arc, and not even able serve as a regular soldier, I couldn't face my father or my family disgraced like this. So I made the decision that if I couldn't serve Vale like an Arc, then maybe I could as a Huntsman. A school that teaches about Semblances and Aura seemed like my only shot at finally learning how to awaken Majesty, and regain my honour by coming home after graduating as a son they could be proud of. Affectively, I ran from my problems, so would your father _really_ love me for being a coward?"

Pyrrha looked at Jaune with a steady gaze, trying to read him as well as she normally did. She could see that his shame was genuine, his eyes showing that clear as day. They had shown it many times before, ever since he had told her the truth about how he got into Beacon, and that it drove him to earn his place there.

She then squeezed his hand comfortingly, and smiled.

"You're not a coward, Jaune. You rose to the occasion _exactly_ when you needed to, and over the course of the past year, you have grown so much. I couldn't be prouder of you for it, and that is why I know that my father would have loved you, because he would see how you've taken responsibility for your actions, and changed for the better."

"But I lied–"

"Yes, you did. But you have striven ever since then to do better and to be better. From the moment I met you, I saw something in you that I was attracted to; a spark that I hadn't seen in anyone before. I saw what you could become if given a hand and guided, which is why I wanted to train with you secretly. I wanted to see you become the best you that you could be, and I was willing to do anything to help you achieve that. I still am. So please, Jaune, please don't be so hard on yourself. Yes you've made mistakes in the past, but you have fully acknowledged those mistakes, and have dedicated yourself to amend and atone for them. I'm so proud of you for it, for it shows you've matured, and just as I know my mother will love you when you meet her, I know my father would have loved you after getting to know you as I have."

Jaune stared back at Pyrrha with his tongue completely tied. Praise like this was entirely foreign to the blond swordsman, and it brought forth a feeling in his chest that he had never felt before. However, what came screaming to the forefront of his mind, was what he had been told by Huntmaster Ozpin the day he had told him the truth about his application.

_"I have always been present to the initiation trials, for I must judge the first-years with my own eyes. I saw you stumble, Mr. Arc, but I also saw you stand tall when you were needed. It was there I knew that you had every right to enroll in my academy. I saw something special in you, and I am glad to see that I was not wrong."_

_"A spark is a start, and if you feed it with the right fuel, a fire will burn. Though if you would like something a tad deeper philosophically, Huntmaster Tanngnjóstr, my predecessor, was fond of saying 'A person often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it'. It was clear from when I first met you, you were running from your past, trying to find something better. I now agree with my predecessor, seeing destiny being more literal than metaphorical. I believe you were meant to come here, Mr. Arc, and I am glad to help you on your way."_

He squeezed her hand and sighed with a smirk.

"You're amazing, you know that?"

Pyrrha blushed as she smiled, squeezing back affectionately.

"Thank you, but so are you. And you should be proud of yourself too. You really have grown, and you can go back to your family for the summer holidays with your head held high, because you _have_ made them proud."

Unfortunately, this caused Jaune's smirk to melt away.

"I'm not so sure about that."

"What do you mean? I was there when your Scroll was bombarded by messages from your family. They clearly _are_ proud of you."

"Yeah. They all sent messages cheering me on...except my father." Jaune sighed, exhaling through his nose and frowning at the mention of the man he had previously describe as impossible to please. "My family _is_ becoming proud of me, and that means a lot, but it's not good enough for my father. I've been nothing but a disappointment to him ever since I started having trouble with Majesty and Aura. I'm his only son, which means I have responsibilities to him and the family name. Instead of being the son he wanted me to be, I failed to meet any of his expectations, which is why after we beat Team BRNZ, he didn't say a word to me. He _must_ know that I forged my transcript. He _knew_ there was no way I was able to prove that I was good enough to enter Beacon without graduating from Signal, so when I told my parents that I made it in, they openly said that it would be fine if I failed out."

"Jaune..."

"That's how it's always been; lowering their expectations; especially my father. Bruce, my eldest sister Bridget's husband, is _exactly_ the son my father wanted. He's a lieutenant in the army, top of his class, and he and my sister already have a son named Jacob. You know, when I first called my mother, she was shocked when I confirmed that we were together. And my father's even worse, that I bet when I bring you home, he'll tell me that if I was going to ask a friend to pretend to be my girlfriend, I should have asked one that at least seemed believable."

"Jaune!" gasped Pyrrha. "You cannot mean that."

"Knowing him..." he began, but felt the anger that had been building as he recounted his family troubles, slip through his fingers. "I'm sorry. I'm just...all over the place right now."

"Why?" she asked, concerned to see him this way.

The blond stared at his meal, which slowly was growing cold, before looking to the slowly setting sun.

"Ever since I realized that I wasn't as good as my cousins, I started to feel like I was an outcast in my own family. I liked everything they liked, but because I couldn't awakened my Semblance, I couldn't control Aura correctly, and I couldn't fight nearly as well as the others, I felt as if I wasn't an Arc. It's why I pretended to not know anything about Aura when we first met, as I thought it was better to pretend to be ignorant than admit to be incompetent."

He shook his head in shame, and then turned to gaze at Pyrrha, who sat quietly, waiting to hear him speak his mind.

"The past few months with you have been the best of my life. Training with you has given me a chance to feel something that I've never felt before; to feel like an Arc. It's why I feel so conflicted. My mother was shocked when I told her about us, but then she said she thinks you're beautiful, and she looks forward to meeting you. She even said what you just said; that she's glad I'm becoming who she always thought I would be. I don't really know what my father thinks about all this, but I've recently been realizing that some of the things he used to tell me growing up were true. And what really rubs my fur the wrong way, is that I'm starting to wonder just _how_ much of what he said was true, because that means I have to admit that my stubborn father was right."

Jaune couldn't help but feel dreadful for spouting all of this to Pyrrha on their first date. However, he was shocked to hear her giggle.

"You seem to be fairly stubborn yourself" she remark smiling understandingly. "I'm not mocking you, but I think I understand what you're feeling. You've had some strong disagreements with your father, which all sons do. My father talked about having arguments with his father, and only realized when I was born that grandfather was right about a great many things. Is there anything else to your relationship with him that's more negative?"

"No, but if I've made it sound like my father's cruel, then I need to be clear. He's never hit me outside of sparring, he's never even yelled at me. He instead speaks calmly, or not at all, and conveys his disappointment through his eyes...which almost feels worse. I just want to be a son that he can be proud of; and I want to earn it. That's his favourite word by the way; earn."

"I think our fathers would have gotten along quite well if that is the case. Mine constantly stressed the value of hard work, something that I've done my best to do as well" Pyrrha recalled, taking a forkful of pheasant. "You've made it sound as if you have a bad relationship with your entire family, but that cannot be the case, can it?"

Jaune shook his head.

"No, not at all. I get along with all of my sisters. I'm closest with my younger sister, Andrea, since we're only two years apart. Then there are my uncles who are all great, especially my Uncle Thomas. I get along with all my cousins as well, especially Uncle Thomas' son, Lawrence. He's always been like an older brother to me; getting into trouble together, training together, running around in the woods, and pretty much everything else. I've always looked up to him since he's better looking, popular with girls, a great fighter; all the things I wanted to be. He's pretty happy-go-lucky, and can appear to be undisciplined, but he gets away with it by being so talented and resourceful. I tried being like him when I first got here, which is why I acted the way I did when we first met during the trials, and when I was trying to get Weiss to like me. But after realizing how you felt about me, I started taking things seriously, and looking back, I wasn't _really_ doing what Lawrence would do; just what it looked like to me as an insecure kid. And then there's...I don't even know how to explain my relationship with her, so I'm not gonna bother. But yeah, it's all good."

Pyrrha smiled warmly at the blond, feeling touched by him talking about his family.

"It sounds as if you have a wonderful family" she remarked.

"Yeah..." Jaune sighed, picking up his fork. "They really are. And what makes me feel like such an idiot is that I'm only realizing it now." He stabbed one of his sausages, and moved it slightly. "This is the first time that I've ever been away from home, and now I realize just how much I miss them. I'm such a kid."

The blond felt Pyrrha squeeze his hand once again. He looked up at her to see her ever radiant smile, with her eyes and hair shining from the darkening light of the setting sun.

"The fact that you realized your childishness, admitted to it, and devoted yourself to self-improvement, shows you've matured. You ventured out on your own, leaving everything you've ever known behind, and taken full control of your destiny. You are without a doubt a man in my eyes, and you'll be one in your family's eyes when you see them again this summer. I guarantee it."

Jaune blushed at her profound words, and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Thanks, Pyrrha. That means a lot" he said truthfully. While he was touched at her whole-hearted praise, it reawakened a question he had been suppressing since the beginning. He didn't want to ask, but he knew that he couldn't date her without knowing the answer. He shifted in his seat, and rolled his tongue over the top row of his teeth with his mouth closed, before looking up at her nervously. "Pyrrha, I need to ask you something, and I want you to be as honest as possible."

"Of course" she replied, becoming slightly tense from the tone in his voice.

The blond swallowed and exhaled through his nose.

"I asked myself this question after the Dance, and when I couldn't figure out the answer, I just told myself that it didn't matter" he explained slowly. "But now that we're here, it _does_ matter. It matters a _lot_ to me, and I need to know the truth. Why do you like me? Why me out of all the guys out there? I know you told me it's because I didn't treat you like a celebrity, but we both know that I did when it mattered most. And to be fair, I had to ask myself a similar question that I can't really answer either; why did I think I had a chance with Weiss and not you? You're a famous athlete, you're gorgeous, you're kind, you're humble, you're incredible, and a girl that any guy would fight for. Any guy would feel they wouldn't have a shot with you. And yet, with my dumb ass knowing all that, I then try for the heiress of the most famous family in the world; who's also incredibly talented, smart, beautiful, etc. I can't answer why I figured I had no chance with you but did with Weiss, but I can _understand_ why I wouldn't have a chance with either of you. I'm a terrible swordsman and student, I was a gutless kid who acted like an arrogant ass instead of a man, I lied to get into Beacon, and I didn't take things as seriously as I should have. You said that I changed, and I've improved a lot since the Dance, but you said you liked me back before that night. So I have to ask why, because if I don't, my head's gonna be filled with bad questions like, 'Would she like any other guy that treated her like a woman?'. Those are really bad thoughts, so what I'm asking is, what makes me so special to you?"

Pyrrha gazed at her date, feeling the heaviness of his words, and saw the doubt in his eyes. Unbeknownst to the conflicted blond, she had expected him to ask this question sooner or later, and she had given it plenty of thought.

"You're right" she began. "When we first met, you weren't as confident and capable as you are now; a wonderful testament to your growth and maturing. And yes, you treating me like I was any other girl, did cause my feelings for you to develop. However, it wasn't that alone. My mentors, Olivier and the others, also treated me as if I was just an underclassman, but I never developed romantic feelings for them. It was not only your treatment of me, but your treatment of others. It was your humility to admit when you were wrong, how you valued my opinion of you, how you wanted to improve, and even when I tried to soften your flaws, you rightfully pointed to them and said they needed to be addressed. So many people expected me to fall for a warrior of equal or greater skill, a Huntsman or an athlete where our photos on magazines and newspapers would catch the eyes of readers across Remnant. However, I learned from my parents that what matters most is character and decency, and everything that you are, and what you strive to be with each passing day, is _exactly_ what I've been looking for. Your kindness, your resolution, your determination, your morals, your values, your principles..." she paused before smiling more warm and bright than she ever had before "...how could I not fall in love with someone like you?"

Jaune stared at her in utter shock, his heart pounding like a war drum, and his mouth becoming drier than a desert. He had known for weeks now that Pyrrha had strong feelings for him, which had forced him to think very long and hard on what he felt for her. However, this was the first time she had told him directly that she loved him, and he could feel panic begin to build in his chest. It wasn't exactly panic brought forth by fear, however. He was overjoyed to hear her say it, and to say it with such passion, took his very breath away. The true nature of his panic, was of the realization of what it meant, and what he had been pondering on for the past few weeks, had come to fruition. It was the turn of the tide, and he knew he had to ride that ship to unventured shores, uncertainty and all.

"Well..." he laughed nervously, not able to find the right words as his face began to burn, "when you put it that way..."

Pyrrha giggled at his reaction, secretly easing his anxiety.

"Furthermore, you're very cute and handsome, so that helped greatly when we first met" she added, giving him a coquettish look.

"Thanks. You're a knock out, yourself" the blond complimented back, grinning sheepishly, his ego growing. "I still think that I'm punching above my weight here, but it worked out didn't it?"

"Yes it did, however, I don't mind you thinking I'm _that_ special" she replied flirtatiously.

"I may have realized it later than I should have, but _you_ are everything I've been looking for" he flirted back, his panic fading quickly. "You're more special to me than I can put into words."

Pyrrha blushed as she felt her heart flutter at his courting, and she squeezed his hand appreciatively.

"You too. Now eat before your meal gets cold."

Jaune picked up his utensils with exaggerated reluctance.

"Man, what a pushy girlfriend" he muttered.

The redhead gasped and laughed, kicking him playfully under the table.

"Jerk!" she cried.

" _And_ abusive!" he shot back with mock shock, causing her to laugh louder, and kick him again, neither time actually hurting him.

That musical laughter brought back Jaune's appetite, and both ate their meals with gusto. With the heaviness in the air gone, they began to chat thoroughly about their home Kingdoms, what summer plans they had in mind, and what they wanted for the future.

λΛλ

It was late-evening when the couple returned to their dorms, hand in hand, and their feelings for one another deeper and stronger than ever before. However for Jaune, it was a more serious endeavour. He knew that today was more than just a first date. He knew how much was riding on saying the right things, and taking the proper steps towards insuring that there _would_ be a future. During his rare time alone, he had been deep within his own thoughts, trying to compartmentalize his notions and feelings accordingly, so that when their date came, he would be ready and confident. The strange and frustrating situation regarding the tournament and Pyrrha's stress, which he would wait as long as necessary for her to tell him what it was about, had forced him to stop thinking about their relationship. This had led him to dive deep over the past few days, and he hadn't been able to hide his anxiety from his friends that morning. That anxiety grew during their dinner, and it became gargantuan when she said aloud that she loved him. However, hearing her explain why she loved him, and what she wanted, had brought him to the point that he knew he had to be a man. Now was the time to be as mature and honest as she had been with him, and set things right as he had the night of the Dance.

Jaune let go of Pyrrha's hand, which caused her to turn to him in confusion, and saw the serious expression on his face.

"Jaune?" she asked softly.

"Pyrrha..." the blond began, breathing deeply to steady himself, "there's something that I need to tell you, and I need you to stay quiet until I finish."

The tone in his voice caused the redhead's stomach to twist, and it wasn't a feeling that hinted towards positivity.

"Of course. What is it?"

Jaune swallowed, and forced himself to look her in the eye as he spoke.

"The past few months have been the best of my life. I've never felt happier, more confident, more determined, and more myself. I meant what I said that you've made me feel like an Arc, and I can say honestly that you've brought out the best in me. The debt I owe you for keeping my secrets, to giving up your time to help me train, to be so patient with someone who didn't deserve it, and to forgive me when I betrayed your affection, is something that I might never be able to repay. But I swear to you and the Gods that I will, no matter how long it takes."

Jaune swallowed again, feeling the dreaded lump wanting to form in his throat, and his nerves were so shaken that he felt nauseous, but he forced himself to keep speaking.

"That's why what I'm about to say, I want you to know how much I mean it. I meant everything I said before, and I mean it even more now. I was taught that relationships are important, and you have to take them seriously, even when you're young. I'm your captain, and you are my lieutenant, which means we're going to be teammates for four more years, and many more after we graduate. That means that us dating is going to put even more stress on our relationship as friends and teammates, which will affect how we perform as a team. And with you saying you love me, means we're at the point of no return."

Jaune paused for a moment, which sent a wave of fear over Pyrrha, as his words implied he was going to say something she couldn't bear to hear. He then took a step forward, so that they were less than a foot apart, and looked deep into her emerald eyes.

"Which is why when I say that I love you, I mean that I can't ever go back to being just friends or teammates" he said at last, a small but soft smirk on his face. "After all, how could I not fall for someone like you?"

Pyrrha's lips parted as her eyes widened in astonishment. Her heart began to thunder as tears began to form in the corners of her eyes, never in her life feeling more relieved.

"Ja–" she tried to say, but she was interrupted by Jaune leaning forward and pressing his lips onto hers. She froze in shock for a moment, but then shut her eyes and kissed him back. It only lasted a few seconds before the blond pulled away, his cheeks burning with a nervous expression on his face.

"S-Sorry if I was too forceful" he confessed. "I just didn't want to see you cry again, and it felt like kissing you would get the point across...and because I really wanted to for a while now..."

Pyrrha paused for a moment, before laughing as more tears began to fall down her cheeks. Jaune's face started to turn fearful, but what Pyrrha said next quashed that dread.

"No, you weren't. I've wanted to kiss you too, and for you to kiss me for a long time. You made me wait."

"I know, and I'm sorry" Jaune said honestly, and then rested his hands on her hips, pulling her closer. "I've got a lot to make up for. Are more kisses a good place to start?"

Pyrrha felt her heart flutter again, and she blushed as she brought her hands onto his chest, batting her eyelashes.

"Does this answer your question?" she replied, pressing her lips onto his, doing exactly what she had wanted to do hundreds of times during every moment they had spent together.

Jaune instantly began to kiss her back, causing them to melt into it, and press themselves closer together. It was their first kiss, but neither seemed to have any criticisms, and once again made a world of their own for themselves, with nothing or anyone to stop them.

Jaune opened his eyes ever so slightly, which caused him to notice something, and would have laughed if it didn't annoy him greatly.

"Enjoying the show, perverts?" he asked against Pyrrha's lips.

The redhead frowned slightly, her eyes still closed as she was captivated in her bliss. She then opened her eyes to see that her boyfriend was looking over her shoulder; clearly ruffled up about something. She reluctantly turned to see what he was referring to, and felt her entire face heat up. The door of Team RWBY's room was open, revealing Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, and Nora, sticking their heads out to watch them, all with varying levels of excitement on their faces.

"Don't mind us; keep going" encouraged Yang, ushering them with her hand, making a "shoo" hand gesture.

"Give him that wet one Coco was talking about" added Nora, ecstatic that her friends had finally gotten together.

"O-Oh! Y-You!" gasped Pyrrha, unable to form a sentence after being taken completely by surprise.

Thankfully, Jaune was feeling on top of the world, and remedied the situation by pulling her into him, one hand on her hip and the other at the base of her back, and kissed her passionately. The redhead's eyes widened by his actions, but she melted into the kiss once again, her arms wrapping around his neck, and moaned gently at all the new sensations she was experiencing. Her mouth was slightly open, giving Jaune's tongue room to slide in. It hadn't been on purpose, and neither had done this before, but neither were complaining, and they moaned as this new experience took them to new heights. Their spectators watched with growing awe; Yang and Nora had their mouths open with ear to ear smiles, Blake was smirking as it was a scene straight out of one of her romance novels, Weiss was blushing from such a scandalous public display of affection but was nevertheless very happy for the both of them, and Ruby was of course the most shy and uncomfortable.

Impressively, Jaune was the one who had his wits about him, and removed his left hand from Pyrrha's hip to reach for the door behind them. Yang gasped and laughed simultaneously as Jaune brought Pyrrha inside without interrupting their make out session, before closing the door. The girls began to look at one another in shock, and closed the door to their dorm, eager to discuss what had just occurred.

On the floor of Team RWBY's dorm was a low circular portable coffee table, set with tea, coffee, and pastries. Cushions were placed around it, which the girls now sat on, and all had one thing on their minds.

"Well, holy shit" exclaimed Yang, folding her arms and grinning excitedly. "Jaune grew a pair of balls, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he did" agreed Blake.

"You think they're gonna do it?"

"That's none of our business for one, and a guarantee to not happen for two, given what we thoroughly discussed before their date" Weiss expressed, though internally, the part of her who loved gossip and flirted with rebellion, was entertained by the notion.

"Sure, but with how they were making out, I just hope that she really did shave in the end" the blonde added with a snicker.

"Don't worry" Nora reassured, grinning eagerly. "When I get her alone, I'll drag all the juicy details out from h–"

Her grin suddenly vanished as she bolted upright, her face now plastered with a mortified expression. The others looked at her with concern, unsure of what was wrong.

"What?" asked Yang.

The ginger turned to look at the blonde, and swallowed nervously.

"R-Ren is in there with them" she squeaked. "H-He was still napping the last time I checked on him, but..."

Everyone's eyes widened as Yang's mouth fell open.

"O-Oh...th-that's _hilariously_ unfortunate" she laughed awkwardly, and unconsciously leaned towards the door, almost expecting to hear the screams of their friends from across the hall.

"Maybe they won't notice and he'll sleep through it?" offered Blake sheepishly.

"Th-They did seem rather... _absorbed_ " Weiss added slowly.

"Yes they were" said a voice behind them, causing them all to jump in shock. It was none other than Ren, who sat next to Nora, and reached over to help himself to one of the pastries on the table.

"R-Ren?" gasped Nora, not hearing him approach.

"How did you get out of there?" demanded Yang. "Did they see you?"

"No, they did not" he replied. "Weiss was right, as they were a bit too preoccupied, so I managed to sneak out without them noticing me. Certainly took them long enough to get together, which explains how engaged they were."

"Yeah. Jaune making her wait for so long _would_ make a girl want to enjoy herself" the elder Xiao Long remarked, looking over to Nora, who blushed as she understood what she was implying. "Hell, I'd totally fuck him if _I_ was made to wait that long. I guess we'll learn all about it tomorrow."

"They wouldn't actually sleep together" argued Weiss once again. "Even if they are kissing in that manner, Pyrrha would not be so easily coerced into it."

"You _did_ see how they were making out, right? And did you forget how she was saying she thinks Jaune's the guy she wants to marry? They are _totally_ fucking right now."

"They have more self control than that, not to mention they would not be so irresponsible to do it without protection."

"Jaune has condoms" informed Ren, causing the entire group to look at him.

"He has what?" Yang asked.

"Jaune has a condom in his wallet and a box in the dresser" Ren explained, pouring himself a cup of tea.

"And why does he have condoms?" the heiress demanded, expecting Jaune to be better than that. Had she misjudged his level of maturity for him to think that he would have sex with Pyrrha after one date?

"Sun gave them to him."

Nora, Yang, and Weiss' heads all snapped to Blake, whose eyes widened as her face began to turn red. Before she could say anything, Yang reached over and grabbed the Faunus by the shirt.

"Explain, Belladonna! If you've been lying to me about how things have progressed with Sun..." she warned.

"N-N-N-No! W-We haven't done anything!" Blake stammered.

"I don't believe you."

"I swear!"

"They weren't Sun's, as in they were from his personal supply" defended Ren taking a bite of his cake. "I saw him buy them specifically for Jaune; 'Just in case' he said."

Yang pursed her lips, and she reluctantly let go of the embarrassed raven-haired Faunus.

"Fine. At least someone is getting laid."

"I don't think that they will" Ren commented. "Jaune wasn't fond of the idea of having sex on the first date when it came up, and believes Pyrrha thinks the same way. Neither of them want to rush their relationship, so it will be a while before they cross that line." Yang rolled her eyes incredulously as Ren took another bite of his cake, which caused him to look at it suspiciously. "Did someone bake this or was it store-bought?"

"Yes! I did!" answered Ruby proudly. "It's great, isn't it?"

"It's good, but there's far too much sugar in it" he critiqued fairly.

"There's never too much" the young captain retorted. "I had to double the amount in the recipe to get it to taste right."

"This type of cake _requires_ less sugar. That is the entire point of pastries like these."

The younger Xiao Long sister squinted at Ren with pursed lips, unwilling to bend the knee.

"People who think pastries should have less or no sugar, are _eeeeeevil_."

Ren laughed through his nose at her antics, along with Nora who snorted as she raised her hand for a high five from the younger Huntress-in-training. Yang then clasped her sister's cheeks so that her face was squashed, and looked to the others with a disheartened expression.

"My sister, the eternal child" she sighed, causing said child to blow a raspberry at the blonde, which made the others laugh, as it was impressive that she managed to, despite having her face in a vice. Yang then put Ruby in a headlock, commencing their regularly scheduled sibling teasing.

After a few more hours of cake tasting, tea and coffee drinking, and many rounds of discussion, the Beaconites decided to call it a day, and began to put away the assorted china and coffee table. Afterwards, Ren and Nora wished Team RWBY goodnight, exited their dorm room, and aimed for their own respective dorms. However, as Nora opened her door, Ren looked at his with hesitation. It was just then that they realized that Ren couldn't go into his room, as Jaune and Pyrrha were probably still together; whether they were fooling around or not. Nora confirmed that their lieutenant was not in their room, which now left them in a conundrum; where was Ren supposed to spend the night?

'I guess I could sleep in Team RWBY's room, and Ren can have my bed' the ginger thought, which seemed like the best and simplest solution.

However, she hesitated to suggest it, as a more selfish thought came to mind. After the conversation she had with Pyrrha and the others the previous day, Nora had felt a bit more confident regarding herself as a woman, and her relationship with Ren. She decided to take a chance and see if she could lessen that distance between friends and lovers; if not with a proper flirt, then by simply trying to lessen any awkwardness, and lower her nervousness.

"You could...spend the night in my room..." she offered slowly, looking at him carefully, waiting to see his reaction.

Ren blushed at her suggestion, as memories of their previous night together came quickly to mind.

"Are you sure?" he asked, trying his best not to sound that he was neither disgusted nor enthused by the idea.

"Yeah. I'll sleep in Pyrrha's bed and you can sleep in mine. I doubt she'll mind" the ginger explained soundly. Ren only paused for a moment before nodding and thanking her, and followed her into her dorm. "I'll change into my PJs and I'll be right back" she said, taking her nightwear and entered the bathroom, leaving Ren to himself.

As soon as she closed the door, Nora buried her face into her pyjamas, realizing what she had just done.

'GAAAAH! What am I doing!? I can't wear these with him in the room! Why didn't I grab Pyrrha's? They wouldn't have fit properly and would be too hot, but...'

Nora cursed herself for not thinking this plan of hers through, feeling her anxiety building, when she then remembered what Jaune and Pyrrha told her previously. Ren _was_ attracted to her, and her plan to get him to check her out by wearing a shorter skirt had worked, as they informed her he was glancing at her legs. Perhaps now was a chance to go further?

'You can do this' she told herself. 'If you like my legs, Ren, then you're about to get a good look.'

Outside the bathroom, Ren was pacing back and forth. He hadn't expected himself to be back in this situation so soon, and he wasn't sure how he was going to go about it. They weren't going to share a bed this time, and it was just for a night. He admittedly had become a bit too used to sharing a room with another boy, and he knew that he needed to get back into the motions of sharing a room with Nora again, as they would no doubt be doing so on Hunts.

'It's Nora for goodness sake' he told himself. 'This isn't someone you don't know; she's the person you trust most. Suck it up and get your mind out of the gutter.'

On cue, the bathroom door opened revealing Nora wearing her pyjamas, which nearly caused Ren's heart to leap out of his chest. He had for some reason expected Nora to wear something more conservative, despite knowing that the girl much preferred colder weather, and would no doubt wear lighter clothing when she slept. He was very wrong of course, and was taken fully aback by her wearing a simple t-shirt with pink pyjamas shorts, fully exposing her legs, thighs, and the curvature of her hips. Those legs had already been a massive source of distraction for Ren, and now with nothing to obscure them, caused his mouth to dry and his eyes to look them up and down, even though a voice inside shouted for him not to.

Nora of course noticed this, and felt her heartbeat quicken as her fear began to slowly melt, and a coy pleasure to build from seeing her affect on him.

"That's my bed by the way" she managed to say, pretending not to notice. "Pyrrha's is over there."

"R-Right" Ren replied, though he already knew all of this, and quickly turned to the bed on the right side of the room.

He removed his Scroll from his pocket to place it on Nora's nightstand, as she turned to place her regular clothing on one of the chairs. She purposely bent over without bending her knees, and from the corner of her eye, saw Ren in the reflection of the full length mirror, halt and continue to check her out. She bit her bottom lip to stop herself from giggling, as she was now experiencing a type of happiness and excitement she had never felt before.

'This is gonna be fun' she thought, feeling her confidence grow by the second. Nora then stood and faced the boy, maintaining her pseudo ignorance, and smiled. "Is everything OK?" she asked.

"Y-Yes, of course" he replied, mentally kicking himself again for checking her out so blatantly. 'I didn't know her butt was that big'. "Thanks again for letting me spend the night."

"Don't worry about it. What was I going to do? Let you to sleep in the hall?" she asked playfully. "Goodnight, Ren."

"Goodnight, Nora."

The ginger walked to Pyrrha's bed and reached for the light switch, turning off the lights, and crawled into bed. Ren, still wearing his normal clothing, lay over the sheets on his back, and tried to calm down without resorting to his Semblance; a habit he wished to avoid developing. After a few minutes of silence, he then heard the soft sound of bare footsteps drawing closer, and he turned to see Nora standing over him.

"Uh, Nora?" he asked, desperately keeping his eyes trained on her face.

"Can we talk for a bit?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, sure" he replied, the tone in her voice suggesting something important was on her mind, and he instinctively became focused, moving over to give her room to sit next to him. Nora sat on the bed with her legs crossed, and looked at her crush with gentle eyes. "What's up?"

"I wanted to talk about what we're going to do when summer break starts" she began. "Like where we'll stay until school starts up again and stuff."

Ren blinked at her question, as it was less dire than he expected, but saw why she would be concerned and wanted to speak privately.

"We'll do what we did during the winter break; stay at the school."

"I thought that too, but Weiss said that the school won't let us."

This caused Ren to tense, as not only did it mean they would be without a place to stay for the summer, but that the others might know they had forged their transcripts.

"They know about us?" he asked cautiously

"Yes, I told them, but don't worry!" Nora assured. "They don't care about that, and they all promised they won't tell anyone. But if we try to ask Huntmaster Ozpin to let us stay, it could get us found out, and we can't go on Hunts to make money to stay at a hotel because students can't take Hunts. So we're kinda in a pickle."

"You've given this a lot of thought" Ren complimented, impressed by her initiative.

"Not really" she admitted with a sheepish smirk. "I didn't think about it until Weiss brought it up, and then everyone pointed out my ideas of what we'd do were bad. It's Pyrrha that gave us both a new option."

"Which is?"

"She'll let us stay with her and her mom in Argus until we graduate."

"What?" gasped Ren in shock. "That's incredibly generous of her. Would that be OK?"

"She said her mom would be more than happy to let us stay, and that she'll tell her after I get the OK from you. She also said that friends look out for each other, and she won't let us camp in the woods until school starts."

The tranquil boy chuckled at this with a relieved and humbled smile on his face.

"She's incredible. We'll be indebted to her for this; big time. Tomorrow we'll tell her yes and thank her properly. But we're going to pull our weight when we meet her mother, OK? We'll help with anything and everything we can, and when we start making money from hunting Grimm, we'll pay her back and begin paying rent, alright?"

"Yes, sir" Nora replied grinning, saluting with her right hand. "I'll do all the heavy lifting and cleaning, and you'll cook."

"Something like that, yes."

Nora smiled brightly at him, which, as it always did, brought out a smile from Ren, but he was curious, as this time her smile had such tenderness to it.

"What?" he asked.

"We did it, Ren" she replied, reaching for his hand and squeezing it. "We're finally going to become Huntsmen. We've made friends and we've found a place to belong. We're gonna be OK."

Ren looked at Nora, sensing the emotion behind every word. He saw those same emotions in her eyes, along with tears of joy forming, and he then became aware of his own emotions. Because of the White Fang, Torchwick, and the Vytal Festival, he had never been given a chance to take in how much they had achieved since being accepted into Beacon Academy. They were right on their way to becoming fully fledged Huntsmen, and given that they hadn't been discovered by Ozpin, they could finally enjoy being on that path without fear of returning to living on the streets. They had gained everything they could have hoped for, and more. Blessed, was an understatement.

"Yeah" he sighed with a smile, squeezing her hand. "We're better than OK. I couldn't have made it without you."

Nora felt her heart soar from his words, and she threw her arms around his neck, hugging tightly.

"You too" she laughed, tears falling down her cheeks. "Best good-luck charm ever."

Ren laughed as he returned the hug, feeling incredibly happy by her referring to him as such. That was something else he hadn't realized how much it meant to him when she said so after their first tournament victory. They continued to hug for a while longer, both reluctant to let go, as they secretly relished in the warm comfort the hug brought. Their pleasure did come to an end however, with Nora disguising the reason she pulled away was to wipe her tears.

"So what are we going to do after we graduate?" she asked, not wishing for things to become awkward. "Are we all gonna live together in between Hunts and missions, or are we gonna have our own places?"

Ren pondered for a moment, registering the validity of the question.

"I don't know" he admitted. "I guess we could all live together, though Jaune and Pyrrha are definitely going to get married after we graduate, so they'll live together."

"And have lots of kids" added Nora with a grin, lying down on her side. "We could totally help babysit them, but do you think we'll have room to live there?"

"Maybe" Ren chuckled, also lying down, propping himself up with his elbow. "We've got plenty of time to worry about that later. First we need to focus on graduating, and make sure we don't flunk out or get thrown out."

This comment caused Nora to purse her lips and squint at the boy she loved.

"You're talking about _me_ , aren't you?"

"No, not at all" he replied, making no effort to mask his sarcasm. Nora then gave him a playful shove, resulting in them both laughing.

For the next while, the pair began to discuss what they would do during their summer break, wondering about what Mistral would be like, as it would be their first time leaving the Kingdom of Vale. While they spoke, both were secretly thinking the same thought: this was how they wanted their relationship to be. They wanted to continue being the close friends that they were, always being at each other's side, and walking forward into the future, keeping the oath they made so many years ago. And they knew that they wanted more. They wanted to cross that line, and while it wouldn't be today or tomorrow, the day that they would finally be together would come, and they would slowly, in their own ways, close that gap; crushing their enemies in the meantime.

λΛλ

Beneath the academy lay Cinder Fall, though she had no idea that was where she was located. Her eyes slowly opened, feeling not only how heavy her eyelids were, but her entire body. She felt numb and hollow, and as if she were made of lead. She nevertheless forced her eyes to open fully, and it took several slow blinks for them to focus. The lights above momentarily blinded her, before fading to reveal indistinguishable blobs, which took several more moments to draw themselves together to show their true identity. Those blobs were the members of the Order of the Maiden's Ring: Huntmasters Ozpin and Ironwood, Deputy-Huntmistress Goodwitch, Qrow, Major Schnee, and Penny. They stood watching her carefully, examining her, and not breaking their gaze.

"Good morning, Miss Fall" said Ozpin calmly. "Or rather, good evening."

"Where am I?" she hissed weakly, her eyes slowly scanning the room.

"Below my academy, but that information will not serve you in any way" Ozpin replied. "In fact, there is very little you should concern yourself with."

"What happened?" Cinder was desperately trying to comprehend what had occurred after she was confronted by the Order and the Mistralese senior students.

"You failed; titanically" Ironwood remarked. "Your men were captured, your allies forced to retreat, your hordes of Grimm eviscerated by the might of the Valian and Atlassian armies, and the capital, as well as the CCT, stand tall. I'm sorry to inform you, but your mission was a failure."

Rage began to build within her from hearing the news, and she tried to focus her Aura, but could not. Cinder looked down at herself to see she was lying on some type of modified operating table, and was tied down with metal restraints on her limbs and head. However, there were more than mere physical restraints keeping her from escaping. Cinder could see green glowing runes running around the edge of the table, which also crossed over the metal restraints. She could tell that this was some form of magic, but was it responsible for what was affecting her body?

"What have you done to me?" she demanded.

"Restrained you, obviously" Ozpin replied "However, if you are referring to the alien sensations you are experiencing, along with the inability to use your powers, then that is partially attributed to the dosage of poison provided by my colleague. The rest is my doing. You cannot escape from here, and I recommend not trying."

Cinder glared at the Order with hatred; a look that exemplified the phrase "if looks could kill".

"So you expect me to talk?" she growled.

"No, but it would be appreciated."

The false-Maiden replied with a slow hoarse laugh, her eyes and smile filled with malice.

"I won't tell you a fucking thing. I'm just going to lie here and wait for Her to free me so that I can finish what I started."

"She's not going to save you" Qrow informed. "Why would she waste her time with a failure like you?"

"What would you know of Lady–"

"A lot more than you do, bitch" the sombre Huntsman shot back. "We've been at this for far longer than you have, and we know just how cruel and vile the enemy is. Just like you gathered broken individuals to take advantage of them for your own means, She did the same with you. You are just a tool; a tool to use and throw away when it either breaks or is no longer useful. We know this whole plan to kill Amber and take down the CCT, along with Albion to throw the whole Kingdom into chaos, was Hers. It was up to you to assemble allies and to execute it. You gathered those kids off the street, you recruited Torchwick and Taurus, and everything fell apart. The blame falls on _you_. So tell me, you think She'll waste her time for you? You think She cares about you? If you really think that, then you have no idea what you're part of."

Cinder, unable to move or emote past her voice and facial expressions, made a face so pained and filled with rage, that it appeared as if she were going to explode. Hate was all she ever knew, and she had been promised by her mistress that she would be able to extract vengeance upon the people who had wronged her, as well as to bring fear to the Kingdoms of the world. She would be given power like she never dared dreamed, which she had now been given a taste of by taking half of the Fall Maiden's power. That alone had fueled her lust for power and death, making her even more devout to her mistress' cause. To fail was unthinkable, as was the thought that She would leave her behind.

_"You're not good enough to be a Maiden"_ Raven's voice echoed in her mind. _"You lack the discipline needed to be a true General in her Lady's army. Maybe once you reclaim the lost half, thus allowing me to train you properly, will you begin to improve. But I won't hold my breath."_

Cinder tightened her fists in rage, knowing just how much Raven looked down on her, and how she would revel in being be proven right. Would her Queen truly throw her away for this? She refused to accept it.

"Fuck you..." she hissed through clenched teeth. "Fuck all of you. Just because we failed this time, doesn't mean you're safe. You'll never be able to stop us. The wheels of war are already in motion, and there is nothing you can do to stop them from crushing you. The horizons will glow crimson red from the fires that razed your cities, and the dawn will be blocked by the plumes of black smoke from their smoldering remains. The seas will be painted red with the blood of your children, as your pathetic armies that could have spared them, were slaughtered like cattle. Your Kingdoms will become nothing but ashes, cast into the winds of time to be forgotten from history. This is Her will and decree. There is no other fate but Remnant's destruction."

The subterranean hall became deathly quiet, the weight of Cinder's words resting on the shoulders of the Order's members. At last, Ozpin turned to look at Ironwood with an emotionless expression on his face.

"Tell me, James, should I interpret that as a declaration of war?" he asked.

"I would, yes" the General answered in a measured tone, his face revealing nothing.

"In that case, as head of the Order, I should give this messenger a proper and appropriate response" the Valian Huntmaster decided.

He looked at Cinder who was still trying to kill him with her eyes, pretending to ponder on what he would do, as he already decided before the assassin had regained consciousness. Without another moment of hesitation, Ozpin reached for the dagger on Qrow's belt, drew it, and plunged it into Cinder's thigh. She jolted in shock, not expecting him to attack her this way, and was about to scream at him, when she felt her lungs contract, and the words die in her throat. Her body began to shake as she went into cardiac arrest, and the only sounds she could make were small wet whimpers. Ozpin then placed his hands on either side of her and leaned forward so that he could look her right in the eyes, glaring back with cold animosity.

"While you are still alive, pay attention. We will defend the people of Remnant till our final breaths. We Huntsman have given our lives, our very souls, to the dedication of protecting the world from evil like you. My only regret is that I only have one life to give for the free folk of Remnant; Man and Faunus alike. I wish I could give my life a thousand times, ten thousand times, one hundred thousand times, to protect all of them; to protect them from the vile creatures that crawl from the darkest of pits like you. We will never stop, we will never relent, we will never surrender."

Then without warning, Ozpin's eyes began to shine a bright green, and spoke in a voice that was not his own.

" **Tell that to thy mistress who resides in the Land of Darkness. You wish to burn us all; just as you tried all those years ago? Come; we shall be ready and waiting. If our fate is to be baptized in fire, we welcome it, for we shall rise from the ashes, as we always have, as we always will, for that is the indomitable power of the Human spirit. Farewell, Cinder Fall; false-Maiden and broken tool of Salem.** "

The voice that rose from Ozpin's throat was deep and commanding, though not in the manner that could be deemed natural. For lack of a better term, it was otherworldly, and it shook Cinder just as much as the poison did. Blood began to pour from the false-Maiden's eyes and nose as she stared powerlessly at her executioner, watching him remove himself from the table. He began to turn away from her, but halted, and returned his gaze.

"Oh, and Roman Torchwick sends his regards" he concluded, his eyes and voice returning to their natural state.

This caused her to spit blood through her clenched teeth, now realizing that her supposed pawn had sold her out. How was this possible? He couldn't conceivably have traded information, for he didn't have access to the inner workings of Salem's forces, or of any piece of important knowledge that the Order wanted; at least nothing more important than what she knew. Was he just manipulating them just so that he could get his revenge on her, were they using his daughter as leverage just as she had, or had he truly gathered secrets to trade? These and many similar thoughts raged through her slowly dying mind, which only grew in speed as her vision began to darken. At last, Cinder's head slumped back against the table she was tied to, uttering not a sound or moving ever again. Penny reacted immediately, rushing to her side and pressing her fingers against the prisoner's throat. After a few moments, she stepped away and nodded to her General.

The members of the Order looked upon the now dead woman with varying emotions. The more experienced members like Ironwood, Winter, and Qrow, felt nothing but contempt that she was finally gone, whereas Goodwitch was disturbed by the manner in which she was dispatched. Ozpin on the other hand, felt genuine pity. He had no idea what drove her to such unfathomable hatred of them and the world, wishing to bring death to millions of innocent men, women, and children. Whether she truly understood that she was helping to bring about an apocalypse that would turn Remnant into a permanent hellscape, he would never know. What he did know was that the enemy was just as relentless as he feared, and he knew that time was indeed running out. Nearly two decades had not been enough time to prepare, for their enemies had been meticulously planning throughout the entire time the Order and the Maidens had been absent from the world. Ozpin knew that pondering on whether or not Cinder could have been given a second chance or even a better life if the circumstances had been different, was a waste of both time and energy, and he closed the chapter of Cinder Fall in his mind; perhaps returning to it at a later date.

Suddenly, in the pod behind Cinder's body, came a loud gasp. The Order looked to see Amber lurch forward with her eyes wide, flames emitting from them, as she grasped the edges of her pod, trying to catch her breath. The others dashed to her side with Penny releasing the hatch, and allowing Ozpin to take her left arm and Qrow to take her right, both trying to steady her. The now conscious Maiden looked between her friends in confusion, breathing heavily and trying to make sense of everything around her.

"Easy, Amber" the Beacon Huntmaster reassured softly. "You're alright. Catch your breath and calm yourself."

Amber did so, but began to speak before recovering fully.

"I was attacked..."

"We know" Qrow said, making no attempt to hide the self-loathing in his face. "I managed to get to you before they killed you, but not fast enough to stop them hurting you. I'm sorry."

"A woman..." continued the scarred Huntress, "a woman and two teenagers attacked me on the road...there was a child but then..."

"Do you mean her?" Ironwood asked, gesturing to Cinder's corpse, which Amber looked at and nodded, but was visibly unsettled by the sight.

"Yes..." Amber confirmed, and looked between Qrow and Ozpin, lost and confused. "What happened? How long have I been here?"

"You were brought back to the academy by Qrow, and placed in an induced coma due to the damage you took from your assailants" Ozpin explained.

"The Maiden powers!" she gasped. "Have I lost them?"

"See for yourself."

Amber took a deep breath and activated her powers, causing fire to once again emit from her eyes, and she felt her weak body be filled with strength once more.

"It's here..." she smiled breathing a sigh of relief, "all of it..."

Ozpin smiled with alleviation, placing a hand on her shoulder as he chuckled.

"Welcome back, Amber. We have a lot to discuss. Shall I put the kettle on?"

* * *

** Author's Note: **

At long last, you all got what you came for; on Valentine's Day no less. I swear that wasn't planned, as I was actually hoping to release Project BICO today, and chapter XVI of DDCT earlier in the week. Unfortunately both I and my editors have little free time as of late, and we have to do what we can. Furthermore, BICO has spoilers for DDCT, so I was hoping to be far enough along that those spoilers would be out in the open. Alas, things don't always go according to plan, especially given that I wasn't expecting to be doing this much editing by this point.

As I've said before, I wasn't planning on dragging Jaune and Pyrrha getting together out for this long to blue-ball you guys. This was meant to be a rewrite of V3, therefore I need to cover a lot of ground, but always keep Arkos at the core. I think I did a decent job at that, as well as explain why Jaune and Pyrrha have such self-control. I've shown leading up to this chapter that Pyrrha's upbringing was responsible for her discipline; not just in romance, but in all things. I didn't want it to be entirely as it was in the show, where her being famous alone was why she couldn't get a boyfriend, but rather she learned from her parents what to look for in a partner; something I don't think many of us are taught these days. The same goes for Jaune, not only to show how well of a match he is for Pyrrha, but to show off his chivalrous nature; something I will be going into greater detail in chapters to come.

The reason I put so much emphasis on this is twofold. The first is that the average fan-fic is nothing more than fluff without substance, with very little thought put into the compatibility of characters. People will ship characters for no logical reason, as the characters involved will have no chemistry whatsoever in the canon. I have strong stances on shipping, which annoys the shit out of a friend of mine, but I will die on this hill. See the ships I support with this fic? What do they all have in common? The characters actively pursue one another. And the second reason is simply that this is what I believe is important in regards to relationships. Jaune, Pyrrha, and Weiss are the easiest for me to write, due to how relatable they are to me; so developing their characters with that world-view in mind came as naturally as breathing. It means a great deal to me, so I took as much care as I deemed necessary. Ultimately you folks will be the judge of that, and I hope how I handle the other couples in this manner will work as well.

In that same vein, we finally get some backstory for Jaune and Pyrrha. I of course hinted at both for many chapters, but here we get a good look at them. Surprising no one, I changed Jaune's Semblance. I've yet to come across a single person that likes what CRWBY gave him, with the consensus being that Magnetism was the obvious choice. Given that Pyrrha lives in this story, that Semblance doesn't work. Instead I came up with something else that complemented Jaune's style; simple but effective. I put a lot of thought into Jaune's family and history, for I wanted to give him the respect that CRWBY never did. Everything about current Jaune is sad beyond belief, and any attempt to deepen his character results in belittling him. I on the other hand wanted to properly explain where he came from, why he's done what he has, and what drives him. There is much more to come in regards to the Arc family, and I hope it meets your expectations, given a number of you have been asking questions since chapter IV.

I touched on Pyrrha's backstory fairly regularly throughout the story as well, but here I got to directly go at it. Once again, I do much more than CRWBY, for I actually gave her poor mother a name. Pyrrha's parents and upbringing also came as easy as could be, just like Jaune's, and I think it works quite well. I know there are many people that prefer Pyrrha's mother being an Amazonian, but I much preferred that Pyrrha got her height and warrior nature from her father, with her sweetness and beauty coming from her mum. Everyone has their preference, and I've got mine. But just as importantly, this finally gives an explanation to why she was as willing as she was to work with the Order, as well as how she reacted to the situation. I wanted her father's death to be key to her character, being the spark that drove her to be a Huntress, as well as wanting so desperately to protect Jaune and her friends. It goes without saying, but that is why she had that flash of her father's funeral, which caused her to reach out with Polarity and accidentally throw Jaune against the wall. Better than the show, I think.

Moving on, we have Ren and Nora. Same as always, I just want to give their relationship more clarity and strength. To Hel and back with what CRWBY think, so enjoy the fluff.

And finally, the death of Cinder Fall. So props to several of you who thought Qrow would be the one to kill her. I hope what I was getting at in PMs now makes sense, as while I agreed that he would totally do it if given the chance, he was only partially her executioner. I figured that Sam would be the one to do it given that he is head of the Order, as well as have it for the record that he can take charge. He's a bloody Huntmaster for Gods' sake. Of course the major question now is, what happens next? You'll have to wait to see. Oh, and one more thing, that wasn't Ozma ;)

Thank you all for reading, and see you next time :)

Oh, right, the latest episode of V8...Emerald is forgiven and is now part of the good guys, despite being key to Pyrrha's death...

What fresh Hel is this? And I'm out of ground tobacco for my pipe. Sigh...


	17. Only the Music

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I hope you're all doing well. Before we begin, I'd like to say a few things. Firstly, I want to thank you all for the incredible response to the previous chapter. I knew that Jaune and Pyrrha finally becoming a couple would get people excited, but the level of passion in both the reviews and PMs was very humbling. So for that, I thank you all.
> 
> The next thing to touch on is the confusion about Majesty. A number of you were unsure about it, saying that it seems to be no different than Aura Amp. Therefore, allow me to make things clear:
> 
> Aura Amp increases the amount of Aura a person has when Jaune is touching them; like a direct fuel line. It also amplifies the power and effects of a person's Semblance, pushing the limits of said Semblance that the wielder could not do otherwise. It also has a bonus ability to heal, amplifying the natural healing effects of Aura.
> 
> Majesty on the other hand, is more different than you think. Majesty greatly increases the physical strength and fortitude of an Arc, allowing them perform incredible feats of strength, and take brutal hits with greater ease. It also allows them to heal devastating wounds, some that would even be considered mortal. However, the difference that I think people are getting hung up on, is that Arcs CANNOT heal other people. They can only heal THEMSELVES [the wielder]. And that is the major difference between Aura Amp and Majesty in regards to philosophy. CRWBY turned Jaune into a healer (or a battery; depending on how you look at it). In DDCT however, the Arcs, and therefore Jaune, are not healers; they are Heavy Shock Troops. One of the many themes of this story is that Jaune is a Knight; not a healer, not a boy, a Knight.
> 
> To give this even more clarity, I came up with Majesty back in 2015 after watching the scene of Pyrrha unlocking his Aura. That clicked in my mind, and I began to invent a proper Semblance for him. I only became aware of Aura Amp within the last two years or so, and I was just as disappointed as most by it. Having a Sister Semblance to Polarity (Magnetism as fans have voiced), would be great given that Jaune was trained by Pyrrha, and could now fight more like her. Alas, we got Aura Amp. It's funny how CRWBY once again saw the obvious choice for Jaune and meddled with it to subvert expectations. Sad. Anyways, there is more to Majesty than I have touched on, but that would be spoilers. There is more to Majesty than I have touched on, but that would be spoilers.
> 
> Also, funny enough, an OC of mine that I added to the full rewrite has a Semblance very similar to Aura Amp, called "War Drum". However, instead of touching people, he plays a guitar, powering up Huntsmen who hear his music. I took inspiration from the Pied Piper, though it can't heal. He is somewhat of a loner character however, and doesn't like his Semblance very much, therefore he trained heavily in weapons and other fields to make up for his Semblance.
> 
> Lastly, there is something else in that vein I want to respond to. I have heard the Paladin comments before, and I have slammed them each and every time. Paladins are the holiest of Knights, and while they are meant to have healing abilities, they come from their faith. Religion is a broken, nonsensical, and criminally unimportant aspect of RWBY. Despite it being a world that must fight monsters for survival, religion and clergymen are no where to be seen other than the Two Brothers nonsense. So while I do agree that a possible outcome for Jaune AFTER the death of Pyrrha would be to become a Paladin in order to be more like her, there is nothing to support it without cemented religiousness. This is exactly why I took the time to establish Pyrrha's piety, as well as introduce two major religions.
> 
> I hope this has cleared things up. And with that, please enjoy the chapter :)

The next morning came as beautifully as the previous one. Albion was lively as ever, showing that the Vytal Festival would be busy to the final day. In the dorms, the students were also beginning to stir, equally eager to enjoy the last stretch of the festival. In Pyrrha and Nora's room, Ren slowly awoke, still on his side, and saw his entire world peacefully dozing away. He smiled at the ginger, acknowledging her beauty and her cuteness, as well as her light snoring, which was also cute.

It was amusing how panic-stricken he was the last time they had shared a bed together, and now he felt tranquility that not even his appropriately named Semblance brought. He now realized that both then and now, he felt more rested than ever before, as if being beside her let him sleep more deeply and soundly. Waking every morning with her like this was certainly something he could get used to. Nora then nuzzled her pillow before sighing back into peaceful sleep, causing Ren's smile to grow. She was the cutest girl he had ever met, and probably would remain that way until...

Ren closed his eyes at the notion, feeling that he may be thinking too far ahead.

'What am I thinking?' he thought. 'There's so much more I need to achieve before being worthy enough for those kinds of aspirations.'

He opened his eyes again, knowing that he needed to wake her, but now felt incredibly reluctant to do so. He had this issue when he was younger, especially due to Nora's night terrors robbing her of restful sleep, but he began to develop a better grasp of being stern with her as she grew more energetic, becoming the adult of the pair. And yet, he was now back to not having the heart to disturb her, wishing her to get her rest, especially after they had talked into the very early hours of the morning. However that thought did remind him that they needed to speak to Pyrrha, and more importantly, thank her for her incredibly generous offer.

Ren then lifted his left hand and gently placed it on Nora's right shoulder, shaking her lightly.

"Nora" he said softly, "it's time to wake up." The ginger merely moaned in her sleep, not wanting to be roused just yet. "Nora, it's morning" he repeated, shaking her more strongly this time, but still failed to bring the girl to the waking world. All that remained was Ren's trump card. "Nora, it's time to eat."

This at last caused Nora to slowly open her eyes; always striving to never miss a meal. She blinked several times to register where she was and who was talking, and thankfully, she did not overreact when seeing that it was Ren.

"Good morning, Ren" she said softly, remembering that they had talked until they fell asleep, but nevertheless blushed lightly at their situation.

"Good morning" he replied with a small smile. "I'm sorry I had to wake you, but it's time. I know you could use a bit more sleep, given last night."

"I'm alright actually" Nora remarked, which was true, as Nora was inexplicably rested; more rested than she had been in a while. Furthermore, the sight of the boy she loved lying next to her was definitely waking her and giving her a boost to start the day. "What do we have to do today?"

"I'm not sure past the morning, but we need to talk to Pyrrha about letting us stay with her over the summer. That has to be the first thing we do."

"Right. I'll go shower and then we'll go see if Jaune and Pyrrha are awake" the ginger announced, before rolling over and getting out of bed.

She walked briskly to grab a change of clothes, and headed for the bathroom door, closing it behind her. Ren's eyes naturally followed her every step of the way, getting a better view of her rear as she walked, again impressed by it, as the skirt she wore had always hidden it from view. It was then that he realized that what occurred every morning was _very_ much in play, and he blushed in both embarrassment and relief, for if he had risen first, the awkwardness would've been deadly. Ren got to his feet and began to walk it off, hoping that it would leave before Nora finished her shower. Unable to stop his adolescent mind, the mental image of the ginger nude and lathering herself materialized, and he kicked himself for thinking it, suppressing a small and annoying voice stating that such a view could _also_ become very easy to get used to seeing in the mornings.

Thankfully Nora did not take frightfully long, and both left the dorm to visit their neighbors. Ren tried to turn the knob, and as he expected, found it to be locked. He then fished out his wallet and procured his dorm key card, swiped it on the lock, and at last, opening the door. The pair quickly looked around the room, slightly anxious of what they might find. To both their relief and disappointment, they found their friends cuddling in Jaune's bed, fully clothed, and dozing away without a care in the world.

"Well, isn't that a sight for sore eyes?" Ren remarked, happy to see them as they always should have been. "Not to mention it's such a rarity to be up before them."

"Yeah, but I bet they were up to more _exhausting_ things" Nora pointed out with a grin, as she pulled out her Scroll and took a photo of the sleeping couple. "They're _soooo_ cute."

"Yes they are, and I hate to wake them, but we must."

"Alrighty" the hammeress agreed, returning her Scroll to her pocket and placed her hands around her mouth. "Wake up, lovebirds!" she cried, as per usual choosing the less than subtle approach.

With a start, the couple bolted upright, not at all expecting to be startled in such a manner, and turned to see their friends watching them with amused smirks on their faces.

"Good morning, you two" Ren greeted politely. "I take it you both slept well."

"Uh...yeah" Jaune replied, his cheeks flushed, realizing the situation and what it appeared to be. "What time is it?"

"Nearly eight. I'm not sure if the others are already at the dining hall, but they will be if they aren't in their room."

"Right. We'll get ready then" the blond replied, getting out of bed. "I'll take a shower first then you can use it, OK?"

"Works for me."

Jaune turned to face Pyrrha and extended his hand to help her out of bed, which she of course accepted. As Nora motioned for the door to leave with her roommate, both she and Ren saw the couple share a good morning kiss, causing the onlookers to grin at them. The couple noticed this and blushed, quickly composed themselves, and each heading in opposite directions; Jaune for the bathroom and Pyrrha for the bedroom door, leaving with Nora who watched her with an ever growing grin.

After half an hour, Team JNPR were ready to leave for the dining hall, when Ren stopped them.

"Pyrrha" he said, getting her attention.

"Yes?" she replied.

"Nora told me last night that you want us to stay with you and your mother for the summer, as well as future summers until we graduate."

"Yes I did" Pyrrha smiled. "Will you be accepting my offer?"

The green-clad Huntsman-in-training bowed graciously, which Nora copied.

"We will. I cannot thank you enough for doing this. We will be in your debt, and we will both do everything and anything we can to repay you and your mother."

"Ren, there's no need. I could never allow you both to spend the holidays on your own without a roof over your head, when I have so much room at my home. You owe me nothing."

"But we do" Ren insisted, standing straight and looking at his friend with an earnest expression on his face. "You've offered us room and board for several years. That's an incredibly generous gesture, and neither I nor Nora can accept it without offering more than just saying thank you. I'm a decent cook, so I can prepare meals for everyone while we stay with you. Nora can help with anything that requires heavy lifting, and we can divide the chores that remain between us. Then when we start making money from official Grimm Hunts, we'll start paying your mother back."

The redhead was taken aback by Ren's determination to repay her, and felt a great deal of respect and pride in him as well as Nora. Smiling, Pyrrha took a deep breath.

"I appreciate that greatly, I truly do, and I'm sure my mother will love to have someone to cook with her, but I want you to know that we don't expect you to pay us back. I offered because I couldn't just leave my friends stranded. Also, I'm doing this for more selfish reasons" she explained.

"Selfish?" Ren had trouble believing that. Pyrrha had supported Jaune in his pursuit of Weiss over taking the opportunity to get closer to him. Selfish was never a word anyone would attribute to her, so what was she on about?

"Yes. Nora told me what happened to you and your family." The boy tensed for a moment. "I lost my father in the same manner years ago, so I understand how painful that must have been, and has been." Her voice shook slightly with emotion, before she took a step forward and wrapped her arms around Ren, hugging him warmly. "You're not just my teammates, you're my friends, and after what's happened this year and what will no doubt happen in the years to come, I already consider you family. Family stands by one another, and help each other in any way they can. So I ask you both not to feel indebted to me or my mother. I'd do so much more for you."

Ren and Nora were left speechless from Pyrrha's words, touched beyond expression by how much she cared for them. It brought them back to the conversation they had last night that they were no longer alone, that they had friends who would look out for them and never betray them. It was an exhilarating feeling, and both knew that they _would_ pay her back, even if she said they didn't need to. Ren hugged Pyrrha tightly, showing his gratitude with actions rather than words, before being joined by Nora who hugged them both. Jaune watched his teammates with pride and gladness, knowing how much this meant to Ren and Nora. It also deepened his love for Pyrrha, who yet again showed she was always ready and willing to help others. He truly was blessed to have them all in his life. Nora then looked up at him and laughed.

"Get in here, captain!" she called, causing Pyrrha and Ren to open their arms and allow the blond to join in the group hug.

It was a wonderful sensation to experience camaraderie like this; for all of them. Ren and Nora for being alone for a decade, Pyrrha for being placed on a pedestal and unable to make friends, and Jaune who had left the only home he ever knew, feeling like an outsider in his own family, finding a new one, and learning how much of an Arc he truly was. For the young captain, he was starting to believe what Huntmaster Ozpin had said, that it truly was his destiny to make his way to Beacon. If in his first-year he had made such wonderful friends and met the girl that he would marry, what in Remnant would the future hold?

At the moment, the future hopefully would include breakfast, as Nora's stomach suddenly rumbled like a freight train, causing the others to all look at her. The ginger's cheeks flushed pink in embarrassment, and she smiled sheepishly.

"Can we get something to eat? she asked, laughing nervously.

"Yeah, let's go" chuckled Jaune, joined by Ren and Pyrrha, before leading his team down the hall towards the stairs that led out to the path that connected with the dining hall.

λΛλ

Team JNPR entered the hall at last, and after getting their food, walked towards their usual table where Team RWBY were already seated and in the process of eating their breakfast. They looked up at their approaching friends, and Yang began to point at Jaune and Pyrrha with eagerness.

"There they are!" she chimed. "The lovebirds have finally come home to roost!"

"You trying to mock us or praise us?" asked Jaune, taking his usual seat with Pyrrha to his left, then Ren, and finally Nora.

"That depends. Did you do it last night or no?"

The couple blushed, though they fully expected the blonde brawler to ask them this.

"It's too early for us to do anything like that" Jaune replied.

"You sure? Cuz the way you two were making out was pretty intense, and it looked like you were going to jump right into the sack."

"As I told you before, I had no intention to cross that line on the first date" Pyrrha added, standing right beside her boyfriend.

"And as I told you, there are other things one can do with their mouth than kissing" Yang smirked.

"We didn't do any of that either" the blond captain assured.

"And mock you I shall."

"Good ahead" Jaune offered without any ill-will. "And while you're doing that, I'll be doing this."

Without hesitation, the boy leaned to his left and kissed Pyrrha, who was taken aback for only a moment by his sudden act of affection, before shutting her eyes and kissed back. Their teammates smiled proudly at them, happy as ever to see them together and unapologetic of their love. Team RWBY each reacted differently, however. Ruby was once again embarrassed but happy for them. Weiss was also embarrassed, but at the same time was elated, as she wanted Pyrrha to be with the one she loved, and Jaune to be with her after helping Neptune rethink their relationship. Blake was slightly self-conscious and a tad jealous, whereas Yang was visibly annoyed and envious.

"You've got a brass set, don't ya, Arc?" the elder Xiao Long sister remarked, glaring at him.

"No, not really" he replied, breaking the kiss for a moment. "Just an inflated ego from having the most beautiful girl in the world as my girlfriend."

"You do realize that everyone is looking at you guys, right?" she informed. Indeed, many of the other students eating breakfast were watching the new couple with intrigue, surprise, and envy, as once and for all the rumours that they were in a relationship were now settled.

"Don't care. I could never be ashamed of dating Pyrrha, and frankly, I don't care what people say or write about us."

"Well, looks like things went real well last night" came a familiar voice, causing the Beaconites to turn and see Team SSSN walking up to them.

"I told you there was nothing to worry about" added Neptune with a grin. "You got all nervous for nothing."

"Expect for the best, prepare for the worst, capitalize on what comes, as they say" Jaune reflected as the dynamic duo took their usual spots beside the girls they cared for. "Here's your watch, Neptune. Thanks again for lending it to me."

"No problem. Anytime" the blue-haired Vacuan replied, accepting his timepiece back and reattaching it to his wrist.

"Capitalizing is right. You two finally bonked, didn't you?" Sun continued.

"Sadly no. They're gonna go the boring route" informed the blonde, answering for the couple.

"Really? After all that and the way there were making out just now? That's normally the sign of post bonking bliss."

"You would think, but no."

"Could you both please drop this?" Weiss cut in with a frown of disapproval on her face. "We have discussed this at length that neither of them want to rush this relationship. We've spoken to Pyrrha privately, and Neptune told me that Jaune has echoed her sentiments with his own with the boys, confirming what Ren said last night. Let them do what they want."

"Hold it right there, Ice Queen" Yang shot back, pointing at the heiress. "I'm not telling them or anyone else to do _anything_. I'm teasing the ever-loving shit out of them because it's fun. I can only talk about what I would do if I was in their shoes, and I want them to enjoy everything a good relationship brings. They can ignore me and that's fine, I'll support them as well as the rest of you, with whatever they do. You can ignore what I have to say, but you can't stop me from speaking my mind."

"Exactly!" agreed the Monkey Faunus. "It's what I've been doing to Jaune, and even Neptune. Friends mess with each other cuz we care."

"Life would be boring otherwise" added the Vacuan lieutenant.

"And I would have bugged the heck out of Pyrrha if she hadn't spent the night in Jaune's room" Nora commented before signalling to the redhead with her fingers. "Tonight, you, me, and lots of hot chocolate."

"You see?" Yang announced, gesturing with her hands as if before a theatre audience. "All in good fun."

Weiss maintained her frown, but reluctantly understood what they were all getting at. However, to her surprise, Pyrrha was the next to speak.

"As much as it gets under my skin" she admitted, "I've come to recognize that it's all good natured ribbing. In the end, Jaune and I are finally dating, and I thank you all for that teasing. It honestly did help, as it gave me a great deal to think about."

"Same with me" Jaune added, taking Pyrrha's hand. "I've honestly been a thick-headed idiot, not noticing Pyrrha's feelings until she straight up told me. But since then, I've done my best to make this relationship work, and I owe a lot of that to Ren for being such a good friend, as well as the rest of you. It made me realize just how much I cared for Pyrrha, and that I had to do this right. I couldn't have done it without you, and now, I've found the One."

Everyone was deeply touched by the couple's words, as they knew just how honest they were being. It seemed that in only a single night, they matured even more than they had over the course of the school year. If there had been any doubt that these two were meant to be with one another, it was now being quashed for good.

"You're welcome" Yang accepted, placing a hand on her heart and bowing. "So when's the wedding?"

"I was thinking the summer right after we graduate; what do you say?" Jaune proposed without hesitation, looking to Pyrrha.

"That soon?" she asked, blushing at how certain he was being.

"Sure. I thought we'd take a page out of your parent's book, ya know?"

The redhead smiled as she rubbed her thumb against his hand.

"I'm glad you remembered, but I think I need to meet your parents, and you need to meet my mother before we can tie the knot."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"H-Hey!" gasped Yang, her cheeks flushed with a genuine look of shyness on her face. "I was just joking! You guys aren't really gonna get married that soon, are you?"

Her reaction caused the others to look at her strangely, as this was the first time they had seen her like this. Indeed, Yang, for the first time in the year that everyone, excluding Ruby, had known her, was actually embarrassed and flustered. She had thus far shown herself to be shameless, a tad vulgar, and shockingly blunt, but never before had she been straight up embarrassed. Why in Remnant would she suddenly become nervous around the idea of Jaune and Pyrrha getting married right after graduation? She had become slightly subdued yesterday evening at Pyrrha's admittance of thinking Jaune was the man she'd marry, but she had rebounded rather quickly. What was different now?

"Why not?" the champion replied nonchalantly. "I was taught growing up that if you find the right man, then why wait? I truly meant that Jaune was the One, and last night only confirmed it."

"And you feel the same way?" Blake asked Jaune.

"Of course" he replied. "Ren and the others can vouch for me, but I was shaking like a leaf before I left with Pyrrha to the movies. I knew that if tonight went where I thought it was going, then I knew I'd have to cross that bridge. I had to tell Pyrrha the truth that I loved her, and it scared me because I knew that the moment I said it, there was no going back. And you know what? I don't want to go back."

It was an incredibly humbling display by the both of them, and the others were humbled by it, if a tad sheepish, as they felt as if their older siblings were getting married, thus becoming adults and leaving them behind. The couple's words touched Ren and Nora in particular, as they too knew that there was a line to cross, and both wanted to, but were plagued by the fear that it may go wrong. Nonetheless, there indeed was no going back once it was crossed, and they each hoped that sooner rather than later, they would have the courage to step over it. Yang felt the most sheepish of all, as she had seen "Vomit Boy" become a young man in such a short amount of time. Here she was, ready to revel in the freedom granted to her from being away from home, and now, two of her friends were talking about marriage after only a year of knowing each other; at seventeen no less. She honestly didn't know if she _could_ continue to tease them when they were so confident in their love. Weiss, on the other hand, was struggling with other emotions. She was happy for them, she truly was, but there was an envy that burned like the cold in her heart. She said nothing of it, for she knew that no one would understand; perhaps safe for _him_.

"So, on a less serious note, what do you guys plan on doing today?" Sun asked. "You can only have so much fun planning for a wedding that won't take place for four more years, so how about we do something together?"

"Oh! What about karaoke?" asked Nora, clapping once excitedly. "We saw a cool place when we were out shopping the other day. It looks like they serve food and drinks too."

"That could be fun" Pyrrha remarked. "I've never done karaoke before."

"Oh you're missing out" Yang informed, fishing out her Scroll. "Which joint was this? Mousai's Karaoke and Cocktails?"

"Yeah, that one!"

"It's got great reviews. I'm down."

"Me too" Jaune agreed, looking at his team who all nodded.

"Hell yeah" Sun grinned. "This is totally our wheelhouse." The rest of Team SSSN grinned eagerly, though Neptune noticed in the corner of his eye, that Weiss wasn't so pleased, whereas the rest of her team were.

"Right, that settles it" Yang announced. "Let's aim for one in the afternoon. We can eat here and save money on drinks."

"You want to drink that early in the afternoon?" asked Blake with a cocked eyebrow.

"It's summer; you can drink whenever" the blonde retorted, earning a supportive nod from the Monkey Faunus. "So everyone can do whatever they want until noon, then we'll meet in front of the main ceremony hall, and go to the karaoke bar together."

Now in agreement, the Huntsmen-in-training continued to eat their breakfasts, looking forward to another day of shenanigans.

λΛλ

Team JNPR emerged from their rooms, changed into their new casual wear. Pyrrha was wearing a jersey tank top with a floral pattern and burgundy background, mid-rise slim jeans, and low-heeled gladiator-style sandals. Nora was wearing a summer mini dress with a spider flower pattern against a deep blue background, a pink purse over her right shoulder, and opened toed low heeled wedge sandals on her feet. She had even gone through the effort of painting her finger and toenails in a matching pink. All of this instantly caught the eye of Ren, who was wearing a men's green denim shirt with the sleeves rolled up, black jeans, and comfortable shoes. He had never seen her dressed like this, as even in her Beacon Dance dress, she had gone for something more minimal. This summer outfit was a different animal all together, and he couldn't stop himself from giving her the one over, with her exposed legs expectedly catching his eye. Nora noticed this of course, and internally was ecstatic that he liked it, returning his looking over by examining his new clothes.

"Well, you went all out" remarked Jaune, wearing a simple Navy blue polo with jeans, as he was surprised to see the ginger's outfit.

"There was lots of cute stuff at the shop we went to the other day, so I figured to spend some of our winnings on new clothes. I can't have _just_ my Huntress gear and the school uniform, right?" she reasoned, smiling brightly as her eyes landed on Ren. "And it looks like you guys did the same. You're new outfit looks really good on you, Ren!"

"Thank you" he replied, suddenly becoming very aware of his tongue. "You look great; even better than you were in your dress, actually."

He hadn't meant to say that final part aloud, and had let it slip in a moment of awe. His heart instantly jumped into his throat, worried that he had said too much, but it descended just as quickly when he saw her smile grow from ear to ear.

"Aww! Thank you!" she returned graciously, shutting her eyes with her cheeks painted pink.

She meant it more than she could express in words, but she knew that slow and steady would be the best way to cross the bridge from friends to lovers. All of this caught Jaune's attentive eye, and he leaned over to Pyrrha to whisper in her ear.

"Mind explaining?"

"Nora's become much bolder since the barbecue" she whispered back as their friends began to talk. "She wants to slowly pull him in so he can make the first move. She decided to go with that dress since she caught him checking her out again when they spent the night together yesterday, since I spent it with you. She even wanted me to do her nails, which was more of a struggle than you would think. She fidgeted the entire time, clearly not used to staying still for so long, but I could tell by the face she was making how determined she was. When they were drying, I asked her about it, and she said that she could never wear the same clothing Weiss wears in battle, so she would make more of an effort to be womanly during our off-duty hours. She wants to keep the ball rolling. "

"I see. Things are going to get interesting" Jaune replied with a grin. "And they'll be spending the summer with you; I wonder what'll happen without me around to prod him along."

Pyrrha was about to ask him a question, when the door to Team RWBY's room opened to reveal them finally dressed in their new outfits. Ruby wore a floral A-line summer dress with red roses on a white background, and metallic gold sandals. Weiss wore a blue and white lace mini dress, white suede high-heel open toe sandals, and white lace wide brim sun hat. Blake finally wore something less sombre thanks to Yang's supportive pestering; a violet knot front crop top revealing her midriff, white Bermuda shorts, and lace-up espadrille flatform sandals. And finally, Yang wore a golden-yellow v-neck crop top revealing both her midriff and cleavage, with daisy duke shorts, and low-heel sandals, which showed off her long legs that her boots usually hid. She topped off her outfit with a pair of golden-orange aviator sunglasses and tied her hair into a high ponytail.

"And we're finally ready" announced Yang with a wide smile.

"That took _far_ more time than it should have" added Weiss with a sigh.

"Why? Was there something wrong?" asked Pyrrha.

"Just the usual suspects being difficult" the blonde remarked, looking to Blake and her sister.

"You didn't have to–" began the Cat Faunus, but was immediately cut off by Yang.

"Yes I did! Honestly, you can't just wear the same dark bleak colours every day; now especially since it's summer. Furthermore, don't you want to look good for Sun? Of course you do. So I'm doing my part as your friend to make sure you look good and have fun for once" she explained, before her eyes fell on her younger sister. "And then there's _this_ little creature."

"I don't like dressing up" whined Ruby. "I can't believe you secretly bought these after tricking me to try them on."

"It's not dressing up; it's just a simple summer dress and shoes."

"Precisely" added Weiss. "And for the record, you wore far more at the Beacon Dance, and technically speaking, your normal combat attire is more complex than this summer outfit. So stop complaining and try to enjoy yourself."

Ruby groaned as Team JNPR smirked at their usual squabbles.

"I think you all look wonderful" Pyrrha complimented genuinely. "Especially Ruby and Blake; those are adorable outfits, and you shouldn't feel so self-conscious."

"Yeah, they're really cute!" Nora added, before looking to Weiss and Blake. "Sun and Neptune will love them, by the way."

"Thank you, I certainly hope so" smiled Weiss as Blake blushed.

"Speaking of which, they're probably waiting for us at the ceremony hall. Let's go!" Yang announced, and led the way with her friends right behind her.

It didn't take them long for them to reach their predetermined meeting point, and as expected, found Team SSSN waiting for them. Neptune was the only one of the group that had bothered to change his outfit, for he wore a navy blue single breasted short sleeved button down shirt with small white dots, a white silk bandana around his neck, matching slim ash-white shorts that stopped just above the knees, and white buck shoes. It was very clear that his attire was all tailored, maintaining his position as the best dresser of the team. Sun's logic was his outfit was perfectly stylish already; therefore it worked for both casual wear and for combat. It was actually a big deal for him to wear a dress shirt and tie for the Dance, which Blake was shocked to learn when he had admitted he felt self-conscious during their talk after they left the dance hall. Sage and Scarlet hadn't changed outfits, though the taller Vacuan was carrying a large duffle bag; its contents impossible to guess.

"Afternoon, ladies" greeted the Monkey Faunus, grinning as he always did. "Looking great as per usual."

"Truly; the blue really brings out the beauty in your eyes" Neptune added, smiling at Weiss as he spoke.

The heiress blushed at the Vacuan boy's compliment.

"Thank you, Neptune. You look rather handsome as well."

"Hey, Wukong" cut in Yang, resting her hands on Blake's shoulders. "What'd you think of this little number?"

The Cat Faunus flushed with the spotlight being placed on her, and wasn't sure of what to say. Thankfully, and without fail, Sun knew _exactly_ how to reply.

"She gets more beautiful every time I see her" he complimented, his eyes reflecting his feelings for the recluse girl. Blake blushed even more from his praise, and felt her heart skip a beat from it.

"See? I told you he'd like it."

"Thank you..." Blake managed quietly, looking up to see his smile widen, and it caused her heart to beat faster.

"So we know how we're getting to the karaoke bar?" asked Jaune.

"Yep!" Yang replied, holding up her Scroll. "Right this way, ladies and gents!"

λΛλ

It didn't take them long to reach the Mousai's Karaoke and Cocktails, which was a much larger establishment than they had first thought. The inside was a large, multi-level single half-moon shaped room, descending to a dance floor, and was very colourful, as it was illuminated by neon lighting fixed to the tables, walls, and ceiling. The stage in the centre of the bar was larger than one would expect, indicating that it could accommodate a full band, and suggesting that the building was originally intended for live performances. The dance floor right in front of the stage also alluded to that possibility, as it too was much larger than would normally be at a karaoke bar. The tables were mostly standard, until roughly halfway into the centre of the bar, where they became longer and curved, surrounded by half-circle booths, allowing the patrons to eat and drink comfortably while watching whatever performance was occurring.

The Huntsmen-in-training were blown away by the view before them, and noticed that the establishment was fairly filled with people.

"This place is great!" cheered Nora, as she had never been to a karaoke bar before.

"Yeah; lovin' the vibe it's giving off" added Sun, scanning the room.

"Welcome to Mousai's" greeted a hostess that materialized in front of them. "How many in your party?"

"Twelve" Yang replied. "You got a single table for all of us not far from the stage?"

"Of course. Right this way" the hostess replied, and led the group to one of the several stairs that connected to the dance floor.

She brought them down to the final level of tables at the foot of the dance floor, with one right in the middle that was clearly large enough for the group.

"Here you are. Just so you are aware, the blue tablet is for selecting which songs you wish to sing, and the red tablet is for ordering your meals and beverages."

The others thanked her graciously as they took their seats. It was no different than how it usually was, with them sitting clockwise with Jaune on the edge on the left side, then Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, Ruby, Yang, Blake, Sun, Weiss, Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet on the right edge.

"Right!" began Yang, quickly reaching for the red tablet and selecting the drink menu. "I know what I want. What about you guys?"

"Banana Daiquiri" Sun replied, causing Yang to tilt her head with an amused smirk on her face. "What? It's got two things I love in it; banana and rum. Were you expecting something different?"

"Nope" she laughed selecting the cocktail. "I'm in the same boat, which is why I'm going with a Zombie. Anyone else?"

"Campari-Orange" said Neptune.

"Oaxacan Old Fashioned" said Sage.

"Mojito" said Scarlet.

"Is there a beer list?" asked Weiss. "Something from Atlas maybe?"

"One sec" replied Yang, tapping away. "Yeah. Whoa, these names are weird. Eberherz Dunkel, Fedorovskiy Pshenichnyy Lager, Herr der Winterländer Doppelbock–"

"Yes!" gasped the Atlassian, clapping her hands together. Yang may have absolutely butchered the pronunciation of those beers, but Weiss had managed to understand the third one as clear as day. "The doppelbock. It's my favourite."

"Sure. Though it's weird that someone like you who's so fixated on dietary rules, loves carb heavy drinks like beer" the blonde commented.

"I'm allowed _one_ vice" the heiress defended. "And I don't partake all that often."

"Fair enough, I guess. Though...it's not very _Weiss_ –no, no that one doesn't work either. Damn it. Anyways, back to drinks. Hmmm...a White Russky for Blake..."

"A what?" the Cat Faunus asked. "And I don't really want to drink."

"Too late. I'd have suggested a Black Russky, but the White version has cream in it. What about you, lovebirds?"

"A Boilermaker with any stout and smoked whiskey; nothing fancy" replied Jaune, turning to Pyrrha. "You?"

"I suppose something a bit sweet with wine, so a Mimosa would do" she replied.

"Sweet is good" added Nora "Is there a sweet drink category?"

"Mead is sweet" Yang informed the hammeress. "There's a blackberry mead cocktail made locally with syrup from the Forever Fall maples."

"Oooo! Yes please!" the ginger cheered eagerly, but calmed quickly to nudge Ren. "Don't worry, I'll go easy."

She had seen his expression change in the corner of her eye, and while she did enjoy the result of them cuddling, she knew it worried him when she went overboard.

Ren smiled appreciatively, glad she remembered.

"Everything in moderation" he echoed. "I'll have one as well."

"Two of those, though maybe next time you could go for a Tight Ginger Snatch she continued, saying the other suggestion under her breath, though Blake's sharp ears picked it up and she barely managed to stop herself from laughing. "And a Virgin Shirley Temple for Ruby" concluded the blonde, tapping on the tablet screen and completing their order.

"Thanks" said Ruby in relief, glad that her sister wasn't going to try to get her to drink under the table.

"And now to select the music. I nominate that Jaune goes first" said Yang with a grin.

"What? Why me?" he asked.

"And it has to be a love song."

"Oh c'mon!" Jaune gasped, realizing what was going on.

"Have at it, bro!" Sun encouraged, sliding the blue tablet across the table. "Time to man up."

"I think our definitions of manning up are very different."

"Pyrrha?" provoked Yang.

Jaune looked over at his girlfriend, hoping that she would be merciful and give him an out. Pyrrha was far from cruel, but she was still a girl, and having her boyfriend sing a love song to her was far too tempting.

"I like cheesy romantic love songs" she said at last, smiling a tad coyly. The others laughed at her direct retort, seeing she wasn't going to let him get away from being teased too easily. Jaune sighed and reluctantly picked up the tablet.

"Just promise you won't break up with me if I make a fool of myself" he pleaded.

"You showed up to the Dance in a dress; I think you're good" pointed out Neptune. "And you can sing, right?"

Jaune looked up at Weiss, knowing she would be the best critic, as she had been the unfortunate recipient of his hastily written ballads. Weiss actually shrunk a little in her seat, as she wasn't sure how to respond. Initially she had cringed at his advances, trying so hard to win her over to the point of being annoying. However, after spending time with Neptune, and watching how he, Jaune, and even Sun courted the girls they liked, she had begun to understand what they were thinking. They all meant well, and were simply trying to put their best foot forward while having their own insecurities; excluding Sun as he seemed infallible. She wanted to be honest given her musical background, but she didn't want to appear cruel to the boy who helped her get the attention of the secretly shy Vacuan.

"There's talent there" she said at last, slowly. "You're a decent guitarist, and with practice you could become a proper musician and singer."

"Translation: you suck" Yang remarked.

"Hey!"

"Neptune's melted your heart, Ice Queen, so _I_ have to be the straight man here" the elder Xiao Long countered, pointing at Weiss who blushed, before returning her focus to Jaune. "Now hurry up and pick a song, Lover Boy."

"Give me a minute, will ya?" he shot back, scrolling through the music lists. "I don't listen to popular music so I don't even know what to look for, and I can't really sing if I don't know how it goes."

"Hey, there are headphones under here" informed Nora, pulling out a pair of black closed-back headphones. "Here you go."

Jaune reluctantly accepted the headphones and slipped them over his head, as he continued to sort through songs he hadn't even heard on the radio. The others chatted amongst themselves as he listened, trying to find at least one he liked, and that Pyrrha would as well. Finally, one did catch his attention, and he listened as he read the lyrics.

'This one could work...' he thought, though wondering if he could hit those low notes.

"Arc! What's taking so long?" Yang demanded.

"I think I found one; just let me listen to it a couple times" he answered. After the second listen, Jaune felt somewhat more confident with his chances of performing well on stage, and selected the song to send it to the karaoke queue. "There. I picked one."

"Great! How long do we have to wait?" asked Nora, excited to see Jaune sing to Pyrrha. On cue, the tablet pinged signalling that Jaune was next.

"Well, not long at all" grinned Yang, resting her chin on her palm as she looked at the blond swordsman. "You're up."

Jaune grimaced as he felt his stomach tie itself in a knot, his nerves starting to get a bit shaken, as he looked at his beautiful lieutenant, who smiled reassuringly at him. She could tell what he was feeling, and she leaned to kiss him quickly on the lips.

"For luck" she said.

Jaune smiled as he felt the knot loosen as he took a swig from his pint before rising to his feet and traversed the Dance floor to step onto the stage. He stood before the microphone perched atop a stand, and looked down at the screen at his feet, cleverly hidden from the audience's view. As the song loaded in, Jaune looked at the room and noticed that other patrons were looking at him, and he instantly knew that he was being recognized. He could already feel the knot in his gut begin to retighten, but he forced himself to look at Pyrrha, who was smiling supportively.

'Sing to her, not the room' he told himself as the drums began to play, leading in with the guitar right behind. The karaoke screen began to count down to let him know when to start singing, as he took one last breath.

 _"I been watchin' these wannabe cowboys  
_ _Getting turned down like a radio.  
_ _I been sittin' here watching you  
_ _Thinking of one or two new ways to say no._

_But you been tappin' them Tony Lamas  
_ _You got one thing on your mind.  
_ _And girl, with that body, can't believe nobody's  
_ _Asked you to dance all night."_

The blond had made sure to look right at his girlfriend when he sang the last line of the first verse, causing her to smile brighter than the studio lights beating down on him, and it gave him the courage to belt out the chorus.

 _"So let's get ya out there on a hardwood  
_ _Spread around a little sawdust  
_ _Girl, let's slide like a steel guitar should  
_ _Then make this hole-in-the-wall all jealous of us._

 _These boys don't know how to two-step  
_ _Let's show 'em how to honky-tonk.  
_ _Cause I ain't here to drop pickup lines  
_ _And you ain't here to talk (nah)_

_Step, step to the left  
_ _Step, step to the right."_

The entire room was now focused on Jaune, not only because few people had gone ahead and sang on stage, but because Jaune was actually singing well. His friends were equally raptured, shocked at how well he could truly sing.

"Where did this come from?" demanded Yang, trying to see how the swordsman's previously cringy musical numbers transformed into his current performance. "And did he secretly write this song?"

"It's surprisingly spot on" commented Neptune with a grin.

"He's actually steady and maintaining it throughout" Weiss remarked in surprise, taken aback the most from hearing Jaune's true musical talents, as she had been the recipient of it when it was terrible.

However, it was Pyrrha most of all who was filled with awe. The lyrics made her heart flutter, as they brought back the memories and feelings of that fateful night where she had told Jaune how she felt, and where he stepped up and asked her out. It was that, along with him constantly glancing at her, making sure that the lyrics that spoke most accurately of their relationship were directed right at her with not only his voice, but with his eyes. Every girl fantasized about the boy they loved singing them love songs, that was an indisputable fact, but for Pyrrha, it meant so much more. Jaune was clearly putting far more effort and passion than he had ever done previously, singing from the heart rather than his throat. She could feel his love for her in every word, and it solidified just how much he loved her, and how much she loved him.

When Jaune completed his song, he was shocked to hear the entire bar clap and cheer, proving his performance was far better than he had assumed it was. Not sure of how else to respond, the blond bowed respectfully, and walked off the stage to return to his friends.

"So how'd I do?" he asked as he sat next to Pyrrha.

"You were amazing!" cheered Nora.

"Yes, very impressive" added Ren with a smirk.

"I hate to admit it, but that was great" confessed Yang.

"Damn great you mean" corrected Sun with a thumbs up from the rest of Team SSSN.

"I've got to say, you've out done yourself this time, Jaune" Blake remarked, secretly weak to the idea of being sung to.

"Truly" continued Weiss, fascinated by his performance. "I have to ask, where did you learn to sing so well?"

"Just practice, honestly" Jaune replied sheepishly, taking a sip of his Boilermaker. "Many members of my family pick up some sort of musical instrument, and we all sing together at religious gatherings and large family meals. I just grew up with it, though I'm used to singing hymns, folk, and drinking songs." He at last turned his attention to the redhead beside him, and he felt his cheeks turn pink. "What did you think?" he asked.

Without hesitation, Pyrrha wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.

"It was cheesy, it was romantic, and it was so on the nose it made me want to laugh; I loved it" she replied smiling against his lips. "And I love you."

Jaune couldn't hold back a smile of his own, and kissed her back as he pulled her closer with his left hand on her hip.

"Easy there, kids; everyone's watching" informed Yang, referring to not only themselves, but the other patrons of the bar.

"Are they jealous?" asked Jaune, trying not to break the kiss.

"Some of'em, yeah."

"Good" he affirmed, causing Pyrrha to giggle in the middle of the kiss, and Ren and Nora to snicker.

"What song was that?" asked Ruby, pulling the blue tablet towards her. "I kinda liked it."

"It's right there on the music queue for our table" Yang replied, pointing to the right side of the screen.

"What genre is this? I've never heard it before."

"It's country music" Neptune replied. "How have you never heard of it?"

"I just haven't, but I want to hear more."

"Hundred Lien says that Ruby ends up with a cute country boy" grinned Yang.

"I'll take that bet" Nora chimed in.

"Seriously?" asked the younger Xiao Long incredulously. "From liking _one_ country song, I'm gonna go looking for a country boy? C'mon, sis."

λΛλ

_On a farm in Mistral..._

"Achoo!" sneezed a boy, reaching for a red handkerchief hanging out of his back pocket.

"Bless you!" came a woman's voice from inside the small house at his back. "And that's what you get for sleeping out in the field!"

"You keep saying that, but I've yet to get a cold!" the boy shouted back with a grin, before blowing his nose.

He was short, roughly 5'2" or so, recently turned fifteen, with short, slightly unkempt black hair, hazel eyes, tanned skin, and freckles on both cheeks. He wore a white shirt that had seen better days, with a number of stitches and patches across it, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and rested behind a pair of orange suspenders. They held up a pair of tough trousers, which also had seen hard use, with the knees both patched, and covered a pair of worn leather cowboy boots.

He walked across the front of his home and stretched as he reached a cast iron hand water pump. He was about to retrieve some water, when something out in the field caught his eye. He brought his left hand to shield his face, clad in orange working gloves, and managed to see something small scurrying through the young corn crop. It only took the boy a moment to realize that it was a fat ground hog, and without hesitation, drew a Colt Single Action Army revolver with a 5½ inch barrel, aligned the front blade with the rear U-notch, and with a beautifully crisp trigger-pull, sent a bullet at the rodent. It hit the pest right in the eye, causing it to flip backwards and fall back to earth, dead before doing so.

"Nice shootin', kid" came a deep voice.

The boy turned his head to his right to see a man he didn't recognize sitting upon a black horse, and smiling politely at him. He was a tall man in his mid twenties, to which he appeared giant-like, as his horse was an impressive beast at eighteen hands tall, sharing Friesian characteristics with black feathering on the lower legs, leaving the boy to assume he was well over six feet. He had shoulder-length jet black hair, tucked into an equally black cowboy hat with a silver band and buckle set around the base of the crown, a visible crease above it, and oval brim. He only had one eye, a gold coloured one, as his left was covered by a black eye patch with a strange symbol of three silver horns forming a sort of triangle. He had a full but short cut beard, which of course was also black, causing his single eye to be more pronounced, especially against his pale complexion. He wore a leather duster trench coat, with matching leather gloves, and trousers with dark leather chaps tucked into cowboy boots with silver spurs; all of which were black. The front was open, revealing a crimson coloured vest with silver buttons, and a black leather gunbelt with a silver buckle around his waist. A pair of modified Colt Walker revolvers were on his hips, along with the handle of a bullwhip being visible behind the grip of his left revolver. On the left side of his saddle was a leather cavalry scabbard, with the polished wooden stock of a rifle naturally protruding out; a finely polished crescent brass butt plate glimmering in the afternoon sun. Similarly polished and shiny, was a long, roughly seven foot spear attached to his back, with a black shaft, and Chiavarina boar hunting spearhead with two out-turned wing guards.

"Lots of varmints this year?" he continued.

"Naturally" the boy replied. "It was a milder winter this year, and the crops are coming in strong. Now all manner of critters are trying to take advantage."

"Speaking of which, mind if I water my horse?"

"Go right ahead."

The man nudged his horse forward as the boy began to work the leaver, allowing water to fall into the trough below the mouth of the pump. He then noticed that on the right side of the saddle was the hilt of a sword. He knew little of them, but from the 10" long hand and a half grip with a riser in the middle and eight-sided pommel, he assumed that it was attached to a mighty fearsome blade.

"What's your name, son?"

"Oscar" he replied. "Oscar Pine."

"Oscar Pine" the man echoed. "Good name. A small piece of advice, Oscar..." With impressive speed, he grabbed the rifle in his scabbard, revealing it to be a Henry Repeater with modified ladder sights, shouldered it, and fired at another groundhog that had emerged amongst the corn stocks. "If you're going to deal with pest control, I recommend a carbine. A .32 calibre pistol can drop varmints and men just fine..." he turned to look at him with a warm smile on his face, "...but it will take a lot more than that to drop me."

Due to the man's sudden action, Oscar had drawn his pistol, and was aiming at his head, believing that he was trying to kill him. Of course knowing the truth made him feel incredibly guilty, and he holstered his revolver.

"Sorry. There's been lots of suspicious people moving around the past year, so everyone's been on their toes" he confessed.

"No doubt. These are strange times" the spearman admitted, throwing the lever and ejecting the case, and decocking the hammer before returning his rifle to the scabbard. "And it's my fault for drawing my weapon without warning, so I humbly apologize."

"What's with all the shooting?" demanded a voice from the house. The two young men turned to see a woman in her late thirties with tanned skin, blue eyes, and long black hair tied into a knot bun. She wore a baby blue Louisa blouse and a long dark grey twill walking skirt that reached her ankles, allowing a pair of brown leather boots to be visible.

"Howdy, ma'am; pardon the noise" he greeted, tipping his hat politely. "I was just helping your son deal with pest control."

"Very much obliged" the woman returned just as politely as she walked up to them and placed her hands on Oscar's shoulders. "However, this one is my nephew."

"Ah I see, well, he seems to be a very capable young man; son or no. Rather good marksman skills if I do say so myself."

"Yes he is" she said in a slightly perturbed tone, ruffling Oscar's hair. "When he isn't napping in a field somewhere, he's out hunting and fishing, and practising with his father's old rifles."

"You make it sound like I skip out on my chores" Oscar remarked, a little annoyed with his aunt. "I've always made sure everything is done before taking off."

"Thank goodness for that" she sighed with a laugh. "I'm Emma, by the way."

"Freki" the man replied, nodding courteously. "Tell me, do you happen to have the time?"

It was Oscar who obliged, and he fished out an old pocket watch from his left breast pocket.

"1:30" he replied before closing the brass timepiece.

"I'm making good time, then" Freki smirked, reaching into his vest and retrieving a long dark coloured cigar, and gestured to the teenager. "Would you care to join me?"

"I think he's a bit young to start that particular hobby" Emma answered for him.

"I wasn't much older than he was when I started; though that does suggest how terrible my upbringing was" he laughed, drawing a Bowie knife, and cut four intercepting lines across the cap of the cigar. He placed it in his mouth and tested the draw, before scraping a match against the pommel of his saddle. "Tell me" he said, lighting his cigar and drawing from it as he flicked away the match, "how far are we from Albion?"

"As in the capital of Vale?" Emma asked with a confused expression on her face. "Thousands of miles. You can't possibly be trying to get all the way there on horseback, are you?"

"I am and I will" Freki replied soundly, taking another pull before placing both hands with the cigar between the index and middle finger of his right onto the horn of the saddle. "It's a long venture; across Mistral, then to the Lang Ocean, then to traverse to one coast of Vale to the other. It may seem mad, but given that the fireworks that were meant to signal the start of a special party I planned to take part in _haven't_ gone off, I can afford to take the more scenic route."

"Special party? Do you mean the Vytal Festival?"

"No; something even more interesting."

Suddenly, Oscar threw his left arm across his aunt as if to protect her, and quickly reached for his revolver, but did not draw. Emma gasped and grabbed onto her nephew, as she now saw what had caused him to spring into action. Seemingly out of nowhere, a large black wolf, the largest that either of them had ever seen, was standing no more than ten yards from them with both groundhogs in its mouth. It stared at them in a curious manner, appearing not in the least to be afraid or concerned by the Humans looking back at it. Oddly enough, neither was Freki or his horse.

"Mr. Pine" Freki said calmly, looking at the farm boy. "You seem to be a good honest lad, but if you try to shoot my friend, I will not hesitate to put one through you."

This caused Oscar to look up at the cowboy in bewilderment. "He's yours?"

"Indeed. Mánagarmr" he called, "put those down and say hello."

Shockingly, the wolf heeded the command, and dropped the groundhogs beside the horse before walking up to Oscar and stopping in front of him, sitting like an obedient dog. He looked up at Oscar with big, almost intelligent eyes, which wasn't difficult as the wolf was roughly forty inches at the shoulder. Now much closer, a white patch of fur that resembled a waxing crescent was visible around his left eye. Oscar had seen some strange fur markings in his time; though only in domesticated breeds were there anything as specific as this. Unsure of what else to do, the boy slowly reached out with his left hand and gently rubbed its head, causing it to make a sound that indicated he was pleased.

"Now say thank you for the meal" Freki continued, sounding like a father reinforcing his son to maintain good manners.

Mánagarmr leaped onto his hind legs, instantly dwarfing Oscar as he was nearly seven feet long from snout to tail, and rested his monstrous paws onto the boy's shoulders. Oscar's knees nearly buckled from the sudden action, as the wolf was far heavier than he had expected, and barely managed to stay on his feet as Mánagarmr began to lick his face.

"Good boy. Now go eat your lunch before it gets cold; or you'll crush the kid."

Again, Mánagarmr heeded the command dutifully, and returned to the dead groundhogs, beginning to eat them; bone and all.

"Forgive him for spooking you. He can be as loud as a thunderstorm, and quieter than a mouse when he wants to be" the cowboy explained fondly. "I found him as a pup years ago, and he's been a good friend. Hasn't he, Svaðilfari?"

The horse shook his large head in agreement, displaying the same level of intelligence as Mánagarmr.

"Sorry for jumping the gun; no pun intended" Oscar said at last, finding his voice. "We've had problems with wolves before, hence why I try to practice shooting as much as I can."

"Oh I don't doubt it, nor do I hold it against you. All, whether they be city folk or country folk, fear the wolf, and one of his size would shake even the mightiest warrior" Freki acknowledged, taking another draw of his cigar. "I think they're fascinating, these children of the night. I'm sure many a Huntsman and farmer would disagree with me on their beauty, but if they were wholly evil, then we would have not domesticated them to bring hounds into the world." He paused again as he brought his cigar to his lips, and eyed Oscar curiously. "Tell me, Mr. Pine" he puffed. "What is your favourite flower?"

The teenager looked at the cowboy utterly confused, having no idea as to why he was being asked such an out of the blue question.

"I don't know...roses I guess" he replied.

"And have you ever considered planting a rose garden?"

"No..."

"It's not a bad idea" Emma remarked, though also confused. "But why are you suggesting he do such a thing?"

"Oh, just because I think it's funny" Freki replied with a grin, only adding to their bewilderment. "Do you believe in destiny, Mr. Pine?"

"I don't know. I think we have more control of our lives than people want to admit."

Freki laughed. "Well said! Although, I do believe that the Gods have plans for some, if not all of us, to some degree. I believe that things happen for a reason, and there are very few coincidences in life. It's why I know that you and I will meet again, and I do have some inkling as to why. All roads lead home, as they say, though in this case, all roads lead to the aforementioned party. As for my rose garden comment, well, I'll leave that one to surprise. Till the next time, Oscar Pine, and good day. Ma'am."

The man in black tipped his hat before placing his cigar in his mouth, and took Svaðilfari by the reins, guiding him to the road heading west, and brought him to a trot. Mánagarmr, already finished with his meal, immediately followed his master, and kept pace with him as they resumed their journey. Oscar and Emma watched them go, none the wiser as to what the cowboy had been on about. As he pulled away from them, they could hear the opening line of a slow song he was singing.

_"The world was young, the mountains green. No stain yet on the Moon was seen..."_

His words held a weight to them that neither could describe, though it felt as if time itself was held within them. Time long since forgotten and countless secrets lost forever. It only added to Freki's mysteriousness, which aunt and nephew were interpreting differently.

"You meet some queer folk on the road these days" she remarked, placing her hands on her hips. "Polite and good-natured, mind, but queer nonetheless."

Oscar was only half listening, as he hadn't been able to take his eyes off the odd spearman. He squinted at him as he rode away, and he rubbed his eyes with his left thumb and index finger, before taking another look. For a moment, he had thought that Svaðilfari had two tails; or perhaps that Freki himself possessed one. Had he been a Faunus? He had no animal ears and tail, or any other typical biological identifications, so had he just mistook the man's coat for a tail?

"Something wrong?" asked his aunt.

"No I'm fine, Aunt Em. I just thought I saw something. It was nothing" he reassured, realizing his foolishness.

Emma looked at him suspiciously, before quickly turning to the house and briskly walking away. She entered the home, and before the front door could close, she re-emerged with something in her hand. She marched right up to her nephew and placed it strongly on his head, revealing it to be a khaki-coloured Stetson hat.

"Wear a hat! Honestly, you'll be more freckles than face before long" she scolded, before returning to the house to continue her daily tasks. Oscar watched his aunt as she walked, and chuckled at her motherly temperament.

'Yeah, I guess she's right' he thought, adjusting the hat. 'It was probably the sun making me see things.'

With that, the farm boy worked the pump to fill a bucket with water, and headed towards the animal pens, secretly eyeing parts of the farm where perhaps a rose garden could be planted.

λΛλ

The first-year Huntsmen-in-training continued to enjoy themselves at the karaoke bar, drinking, and now snacking, as they chatted away. No one had gone up to sing again, however, some were secretly waiting for their turn. Other patrons had become inspired to take a crack at the microphone, and it took a while before the uptick in amateur singers calmed. When it did, the patient ones took full advantage.

"Alright, let's do it, boys" said Sun with a grin, causing his teammates to nod excitedly. The others all turned their attention to them, and were unsure of what was going on.

"What are you doing?" asked Blake.

"You'll see" he assured, before shifting his eyes to Weiss. "Sorry in advance, Ice Queen."

The heiress frowned in confusion, and was about to ask what he meant, when he and the rest of Team SSSN scampered off to the stage, carrying the odd duffle bag they had brought with them. It was only when they positioned themselves before the microphones, did she and the others realize what they were doing and what they had brought with them. The bag held cases containing musical instruments: an electric guitar for Sage, an accordion for Scarlet, a small set of drums for Sun that was certainly missing a few parts to be considered a full kit, and lastly for Neptune, which took Weiss by surprise, was a violin.

All of this had now caught the attention of the patrons, who hadn't been expecting for there to be live music. The waiters and waitresses were also unaware of this, and weren't exactly sure what to do, given that they all recognized Team SSSN. That hesitation gave the Vacuans all the time they needed to prepare themselves, and thus began to play.

 _"When the Hunt is over, and the battles won  
_ _There's a land far to the south where we go to have some fun.  
The taverns they are plenty, the alcohol is free.  
_ _The parties last all through the night, and the alcohol is free._

 _Whoa oh oh!  
_ _Tonight we drink together  
_ _Whoa oh oh!  
_ _Tomorrow we may die._

 _Yo ho, Vacuo!  
_ _Far to the south where the cactus grow.  
_ _Tequila and a donkey show  
_ _Vacuo, Vacuo!  
_ _Yo ho, Vacuo!  
_ _Far to the south where the cactus grow  
_ _Take me away from the ice and the snow  
_ _Let's go to Vacuo!"_

The Beaconites began to laugh, safe for Weiss, as they now understood why Sun had pre-emptively apologized. The Atlassian folded her arms disapprovingly, irritated not only by the lyrics of the song, but by her inclination that they had written this song after the disagreement they had at the breakfast table a few weeks ago. On stage, Neptune glanced at her and gave her a genuinely apologetic look, never wanting to insult her. He nevertheless sang along with his teammates, and played his violin beautifully, especially during the pause before the final chorus, which did cause the heiress's frown to soften. When Team SSSN concluded, the bar erupted into applause, which they ate up graciously, and soothed the employees' woes. The Vacuans returned to their table triumphant, assuring the crowd they would sing again, though Neptune maintained his rueful expression.

"So how'd you like that?" Sun asked with a roguish grin.

"Very nice" grinned Yang. "I might actually visit Vacuo now."

"Of course" sighed Ruby.

"It does explain a lot" remarked Ren, causing Nora to snicker.

"Also, nice job playing on that sad excuse of a drum kit. No offense, but it can't compare to my eight-piece kit with double kicks and seven cymbals."

"Hey, there's only so much we can smuggle from home. Also, _sick_."

"Thanks" the blonde replied, picking up her glass, "I'm a real drum-beater for good drum kits."

Weiss' eyes nearly rolled out of her head at that, though more due to the fact that her friend's instrument of choice was drums than the poor pun. Neptune, now back beside the heiress, nudged her gently with his elbow to get her attention.

"I'd visit Atlas in a heartbeat to see you, even if you're annoyed with me" he said softly. Weiss' cheeks turned slightly pink, and she took his hand to assure no harm or fowl.

"I'm not annoyed with you, or the childishness of the song" she replied, which was a bit contradictory. "Though, you never told me that you could play the violin."

"Vacuans like to sing just like anyone else, and fishermen certainly have a knack for songs and storytelling" he explained. "You get a lot of sea shanties being sung in local taverns, so you'll see lots of violinists entertaining patrons, or giving them musical aid when they begin to sing. I really liked it so I picked it up. I'm not that good at it though."

"No, you are good" she defended. "Not incredible, but with practice you could very well become an exceptional violinist."

"Practicing is the issue; not much free time to do so."

"Why don't you two make a date of it?" offered Pyrrha. "Neptune's violin playing with your singing; combine your interests and skills together, as it were."

"Speaking of which, why don't you go up there and sing, Weiss?" offered Ruby.

This caused the heiress to frown once again, and she took her pint with her free hand.

"I am a classically trained opera singer" she deflected, taking a sip. "I doubt they have such music in karaoke form, therefore I will decline from singing."

"Then just sing your own songs from memory" the Monkey Faunus stated, pointing out the obvious.

"I don't think anyone here would want to hear opera" she deflected again, in a tone that made it clear she was not interested in the slightest. This caught Jaune's attention, as he more than anyone, was aware of just how talented of a singer she was. So what was really the issue here?

"Fair enough" Yang added, taking a swig of her Zombie. "Opera's pretty boring anyways." This caused Weiss to glare at her, but she ultimately remained silent.

"I think it's rather nice" Pyrrha defended.

"I agree" Ren added, reaching for a nacho. "Though I understand why people our age not appreciating it as much as it deserves." Nora eyed the nacho and opened her mouth expectedly, causing Ren to smirk and feed it to her.

"Along with plenty of other things" Jaune noted, before getting to his feet. "I'm gonna take a leak. Anyone else?"

"I think I will as well" replied Ren, joining the blond after Pyrrha had moved out of the way for him to leave the booth.

When they were both out of earshot, Sun looked at the ginger with a proud smirk.

"So you two finally got together, huh?" he asked. "That explains the new clothes and makeup. Is this a date, or will it be tonight after this?"

This comment caused Nora's face to flare up, not expecting anyone to say such a thing.

"W-What?" she squeaked.

"Together; as in dating."

"W-We're not _toge_ –" she began her tired response, but was immediately cut off.

"Oh, shut up, Nora" snapped Yang with a sigh before turning to address Sun. "No, they're not together yet, but she's head-over-heels in love with him. It's going slow, but we _are_ working on it."

"Still?" the taller blond remarked in surprise with a cocked eyebrow. He then chose his words carefully, as he remembered his interaction with Ren the day before. "I thought they sealed the deal after they left the roof party; but then again, I figured they were together when we first met weeks ago."

"We all did, but no."

"Wait" Nora spoke up, "did _everyone_ think that Ren and I were–"

" _Yes_ " everyone said in unison, causing the ginger to look up to the ceiling in despair, before promptly dropping her head onto the table with a dull thud, groaning in frustration.

"I told you" said Pyrrha, though of course not in a mocking tone. "But I stress that it is, in the long run, a good thing."

"Is it?" she asked incredulously without lifting her head.

"It's all due to behaviour" Weiss explained.

"Exactly" Blake agreed. "You two have always acted like a really close couple, and what you just did only amplifies that."

"What do you mean?" Nora asked, lifting her head this time.

"He _fed_ you that nacho without hesitation" Yang pointed out.

"So? We've always done that."

"Friends don't do that, Nora. _Couples_ do that."

" _We've_ done that."

"You flung food at her, to which she caught it with her mouth" Weiss rightfully pointed out.

"Exactly; Ruby and I used to do that all the time when we were kids."

"Still do" Ruby admitted with a smirk. "I would use my slingshot to fire candy at Yang from across the house."

"That's an excellent way for someone to choke" Pyrrha remarked with a worried expression on her face.

"Only a couple times" the younger Xiao Long sister defended. "I'm a great shot."

"In any case, there are clear forms of conduct that are meant to be between couples, as opposed to mere friends" the heiress continued. "You _need_ to be more assertive in what is and is not appropriate until you both cross that line."

"That being said, I stand by what I said to you previously, that being best friends is important to a healthy and strong relationship" Pyrrha reminded. "It's good that you two are as close as you are, and not so shy that doing things such as feeding one another is too much. However, I do agree with everyone that feeding each other _is_ a couple's thing. Jaune and I did so with dessert on our date yesterday."

"I know I know" Nora moaned. "It's just so natural for us to do stuff like that. I didn't even think about it; I just wanted a nacho."

"For what it's worth, we're pretty sure he likes you" Sun added with Team SSSN nodding. "He thinks you're attractive at the very least."

"That we know" confirmed the redhead. "Jaune and I have caught him checking her out many times; he did so when we met up before joining all of you."

"I put all of this on for a reason" Nora explained, holding up her manicured fingers.

"Checking her out doesn't exactly equate to emotional interest though" Blake remarked fairly.

"You sure?" countered Yang. "You check Sun out every chance you get, so it must mean something."

Blake's face instantly ignited, incredibly embarrassed as she thought that she had been discrete in her admiration of the other Faunus.

"I-What?" she stammered.

"You're taking your sweet ass time, but I guess you're enjoying the view while you wait" the elder Xiao Long sister continued with a smirk. "Sun's not my type, _buuut_ I can't blame you."

The Cat Faunus was left speechless, unable to form a proper retort, and could only flatten her ears against her head like a nervous cat. Sun on the other hand was obviously grinning with pride. Nora was snickering at all of this, glad that she wasn't the only one being teased.

"Wow, right under the bus" she said.

"That's what friends are for" Yang declared nodding her head. "And there's a lot of porn under this bus too."

"What?"

"Blake's really into porn" Yang explained.

"No I'm not!" Blake gasped, horrified by the accusation, her ears pointing to the ceiling.

"You have a bookshelf _full_ of it, Blake."

"Those are _romance novels_!" Blake defended, recovering quickly. "Just because you think they're dumb, doesn't make them porn!"

" _Damien opened the door to Rebecca's chambers, not surprise to find it unlocked_ " recited Ruby, causing everyone to turn their heads. " _He knew what it meant, confirming his assumptions at dinner had been correct. Damien's eyes widened as he saw Rebecca lying on her bed. She was on her right side, wearing a thin nightgown that left nothing to the imagination, revealing just how curvaceous her body was. The look in her eyes was that of both desire and nervousness, hoping that he could come but was so anxious that she didn't know what to do now that he had._

_'Sir Damien...' was all she could say. For Damien, it was all she needed to say._

_He closed the door gently behind him, and walked towards her, knowing that words were no longer needed. He ran his right hand gently up her leg as he leaned forward and captured her lips, knowing she needed to be soothed, and there was only one way to do it._ It's porn, Blake, and it's _filth_."

The Cat Faunus was utterly speechless, and once again flattened her ears in shame, being fully humiliated by her captain. Yang on the other hand was overjoyed. Her eyes were as wide as the open-mouthed smile that was on her face, and she extended her hands out towards her sister.

"Has the day finally come?" she asked excitedly. "Can we finally talk about boys and dating?"

"No" Ruby said flatly.

"But you read her porn!"

"Not on purpose!" the sniper shot back, her cheeks now turning red. "I just wanted to know what she's been reading all this time. And since she always leaves books on her bed, I decided to look, and there it was."

"Then why did you memorize it?" asked Nora rightly.

"Well, as a sniper, she has a rather photographic memory" defended Pyrrha, feeling sorry for both Ruby and Blake.

"Scarred me is more like it" Ruby muttered, sipping from the straw of her Shirley Temple, causing her older sister's face to fall.

"Are you going to file Blake for insubordination?" Weiss asked with a smirk.

"Maybe."

Blake wished she could fade away, as while she could defend herself that just because _some_ of her romance stories turned erotic, as any relationship would, didn't make them porn, it felt like a moot point. And for all of this to occur with Sun present, was beyond embarrassing. Sun, during all of this, was smirking, and he then rested his hand on the red-faced girl's shoulder.

"I wouldn't call that porn, actually" he defended. "Lots of romance novels written by women have that in them, because the story and payoff is important, whereas porn is just sex. Lots of girls and women read them so making fun of her for it isn't fair. Just a bit of advice, beautiful: take stuff like that, and let it roll off your back like sand on a sand crab so it can never be used against you. Jaune and Pyrrha have already done that, so take a page out of their book and keep on rolling."

"How can you of all people be so mature at times like this?" demanded Yang, not liking to be disarmed.

"Hey, I'm not so boring of a person that I'm a one-note flute" the Monkey Faunus countered. "I party hard so that when I need to be serious, I can be without taking the fun out of being a Huntsman. Life is too short to be serious all the time. My dad likes to say that 'If you don't want to die regretting not finishing the important things in life, do you really want to die knowing that you didn't enjoy the best pleasures in life?'. I think he's totally right, so I do my best to do both."

"That's a very good mindset" agreed Pyrrha with a smile. "My father had a similar sentiment, though he did believe in delayed gratification was the better way of living, therefore you can enjoy the pleasures of life to their fullest."

"That explains _everything_ " the blonde brawler muttered, taking a sip of her drink.

"Well now" came a strong voice, causing the first-years to turn their heads to see that it was Olivier speaking, joined by the entirety of his team, as well as Team LION. "What a merry gathering we have here."

"Olivier!" gasped Pyrrha with a smile. "What are all of you doing here?"

"We were just walking by, when we heard some people leaving the bar mentioning that they saw Pyrrha's boyfriend singing" replied Robin with a grin. "We figured we'd pop in for a moment to say hello. Now, where is the fellow?"

"Currently in the washroom. Why?" the redhead replied.

"We'd like to meet him" Olivier answered with a smirk. "I meant what I said during our match."

"You want to talk to him now?"

"If possible, however, if we are interrupting your festivities, then it can wait a bit longer; so long as it is before we return to Mistral."

Pyrrha paused for a moment. "Does that also include our match?" she asked.

The senior captain's smirk grew. "Of course, ma chère demoiselle."

"Well, why don't you boys grab some seats and some drinks while you wait for him to come back?" Yang offered with a smile, her eyes resting on Ivoire.

"Unfortunately we will have to politely decline; one, for that we are still on duty, and two, I think that our wives would be a little upset with us having drinks with such lovely young ladies" Olivier replied, recognizing the intent of her offer. Yang's smile immediately fell into a shocked expression.

"You're all married?" she asked bewildered.

"Nearly" Allen replied with a smile. "Ivoire and I are engaged, and we'll be having a double wedding this summer after graduation. A notion a tad shocking for you kids, but as they say, 'The best men are married because marriage makes men better, and the best men, marry'. You are naturally invited, Pyrrha, though now that you are dating Mr. Arc, your mother won't be your plus one; so you may bring both."

"If he passes, that is" René reminded. 

"All of you wish to see if Jaune is worthy of being with Pyrrha?" asked Weiss curiously.

"Certainly, Lady Schnee" Robin replied. "Pyrrha is our precious underclassman and national pride. The man who captures her heart must be of equal merit."

"More importantly, though it is rather unprofessional, we cannot help but see Pyrrha as our little sister" Olivier continued, his smirk turning into a soft-hearted smile. "We want what is best for her, both as a Huntress and as a woman, therefore we must judge this Jaune Arc for ourselves. Though given how he ran off with you after winning the tournament, we like what we see thus far."

Pyrrha's face flushed at her mentor's words, smiling from how they touched her heart.

"Thank you, all of you. That means more than you know."

"You are very welcome. Although..." Olivier remarked, scratching his chin, "we _would_ like to test his skill with the blade..."

"You promised you wouldn't" the Mistralese champion reminded, slightly nervous at a master of the sword facing Jaune so early.

"I meant in regards to threatening him" the senior corrected. "After we judge him based on his character, a friendly spar would not be _too_ cruel, non?"

Pyrrha hesitated, struggling with the idea of them fighting. She didn't want Jaune to be injured accidentally, knowing just how much of a gap between himself and Olivier there was, but also thought that it would be a good learning experience for him. Would it lessen what her mentors' thought of him too drastically, however?

"Kind of a bold statement coming from a bunch of supposed masters and top seniors that got their asses handed to them by us first-years" Yang ignorantly joshed with a cocky grin on her face.

This caused the seniors to eye her with stony gazes, including Olivier, who despite the comment, maintained a pleasant smirk. Yang mistook this as a successful blow to their ego, and was about to take a victorious sip from her Zombie, when she noticed a lock of her blonde hair, the specific lock that hung from the front of her parting, float gently on to the table. Her eyes nearly bulged out of her skull, as she looked at it, and then up at Olivier, who was now smirking triumphantly.

"Ah, the audacity of youth" he said calmly.

Before anyone could stop her, Yang vaulted over the table and threw a punch right at the rapierist's face, hair ablaze. Before it connected, Olivier fired his sword from its scabbard, catching it with his right hand, and turned it clockwise so that the flat of the blade blocked the enraged Huntress-in-training's attack. Just as quickly as the punch was blocked, and just before Yang realized what happened, her vision was filled with the points of swords and the muzzles of pistols. During all of this, Olivier had not even flinched, nor had the attack moved him or his weapon. When Yang registered what had just occurred, she immediately felt a cold sweat forming on the back of her neck.

"Here is some friendly advice from a senior who has learned a thing or two" the Mistralese captain began, giving Yang a shove with his sword, causing her to be knocked back into her seat, before sheathing his weapon. "The life of a Huntsman is that of toil, pain, discipline, and commitment. It demands everything of you, and if you do not respect it, you will be lowered into the ground, like so many of our comrades before. We have adhered to the demands of the Hunt, and have trained these long years, with our graduation in three weeks time, thrusting us into the cruel world where monsters roam. We were asked to join the tournament at behest of Huntmaster Ozpin, and for confidential reasons. Thus, we fought, but not at anywhere near our true strength. You young bucks show promise, but you are _far_ from being true Huntsmen. Enjoy these moments of peace while you can, but never brush aside your training. The world is a dangerous place, and the beasts of darkness will tear out your throats if you allow them even an inch of leeway. Keep your swords and your wits sharp, for that will be the difference between returning to the warmth of your homes and loved ones, and returning to them in a box to be buried. À dieu, mes amis, and Pyrrha, I will contact you when we may have our match, and to have a word with Monsieur Arc."

Olivier removed his hat to bow, as did the others, and promptly turned to leave. However, Allen caught a glimpse of Neptune's violin, and his face lit up with excitement.

"Dear Neptune! You were playing here?" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, my team and I wanted to play, since we found out online that this place had a stage that doubled for live events" the lieutenant replied, though a little shaken by what had just occurred, and he now eyed the man distrustfully.

"Then let us play together at last!" the minstrel cheered, reaching for his lute. Unfortunately for Allen, he would not be allowed to make music this day, as Ian grabbed the back of his collar, and threw him over his shoulder.

"We're leaving" the Bear Faunus said flatly.

"No! Put me down! I can at last perform before a great audience!"

"We're on duty, you attention loving twat" Ian reminded irritably, and turned to leave while ignoring his teammate's protests, when his eyes landed on Blake. "You, cat girl, have we met before?"

Blake blinked in surprise, not expecting to be noticed.

"No, I don't think we have" she replied, though had trouble looking him in the eye, for fear that he truly did recognize her. Ian held his gaze for a moment longer, before deciding to let it go, and walked off with Allen.

"Well" said Sun at last, not quite sure what to make of what had just occurred. "That was _fun_."

"Fun my ass" growled Yang, feeling terribly ridiculed. "I can't believe this. They freakin' _threw_ those matches against us!"

"Hey, at least you got to fight legit" the Monkey Faunus shot back, visibly annoyed. "Neptune and I had to fight those guys, same with Pyrrha by the way, so I'm not happy knowing that we got thrown around for kicks, and then given the win like a kid getting a cookie and told to go away."

"Yes, but I can promise you that I fought the both of you seriously, for we all have the bruises to prove it" offered Pyrrha honestly, understanding exactly what they were feeling.

"I told you that masters would not fight at full strength against inexperience students" reminded Weiss, before turning her attention to the redhead. "And you, as their disciple, knew full well they were not fighting seriously."

"Certainly" Pyrrha replied, no longer hiding the ball, but taking care not to say too much. "However, the injuries I sustained from those matches were indeed real, giving myself, and the others, a very real match; from a certain point of view. Furthermore, do not forget that the Vytal Tournament is meant to be for fun and entertainment. I believe we should take Huntmaster Ozpin's words to heart, as he did explain clearly that he wished to extend the tournament so that Sun and I could fight in the grand finals and entertain everyone."

"Whatever" groaned Yang, knocking back the rest of her Zombie. "And can I ask what's with you Mistralese and getting married super early?"

"I've said it many times, Yang. When one finds someone who matches with you in your mind, heart, and body, sharing values and morals, then marrying them sooner rather than later is only natural. My parents married early, my mentors married early, even Jaune's parents and other members of his family married early. It's not so inconceivable of a notion."

"Maybe, but the walking peacock was right; shocking as Hell" the blonde muttered. Her head then jolted when something clicked in her mind. "Now I get it. You're a devout religious person, so it got you going when you found out how many siblings he has."

This caused Pyrrha's face to burn.

"W-Well, yes, having large families is quite common with more orthodox couples" she explained. "Jaune's family are also religious, so they naturally had numerous children."

"And you always wanted a big family?"

"Well, yes..."

"And you're planning to have lots of kids with Jaune?"

Pyrrha's blush deepened. "We've discussed it, but–"

"So there you go" Yang finished.

"You truly don't listen when I speak" she sighed, drinking her Mimosa. "To be certain enough to bring children into the world with someone, requires much more thought than simply having a handsome jaw line and a nice rear. Jaune is all I could want and more."

"No kidding" the elder Xiao Long sister smirked. "Just make sure those kids come around _after_ Jaune puts a ring on your finger."

"Of course they will" Weiss defended. "Neither Jaune nor Pyrrha would be so irresponsible."

"What am I being accused of now?" asked Jaune, appearing at last with Ren beside him.

"Knocking Pyrrha up before you get married" Nora informed her captain with a grin.

The blond's face actually paled rather than turning pink.

"Given that my father would shove me in an 18" Naval gun, and fire me into the Vytal Sea if I did, I'm gonna go about having kids the right way" he affirmed. "What do you think, Pyrrha?"

"I think that would be most wise" she replied, smiling that once again they were on the same page, as she moved out of the way for both he and Ren to retake their seats. "Though, I doubt he would be _that_ furious with you."

"I'm his only son with _seven_ sisters; I get just as little freedom as they do in regards to dating. He even threatened me that if I knocked anyone up, there would be _severe_ consequences; being launched from a cannon was just the tip of the lance."

"Can't be worse than my dad" remarked Yang. "He would keep an eye on us at school."

"The fuck?" Sun questioned in disbelief with a frown. "How could he do that? What's his problem?"

"Ruby and I went to Signal" the brawler sighed. "Dad _teaches_ at Signal."

"Oh no" winced the Vacuan Faunus. "Oh that explains why you're super eager to start dating. You have my sympathies."

"And since I've struck out yet again today, along with being humiliated, I want to have some fun. Enough talking, let's sing!"

The three Huntsmen-in-training teams carried on for several hours more, taking turns in singing, and even a bit of dancing, which Team JNPR once again stole the show. Team SSSN returned to the stage for a number of songs, due to the great demand of the crowd, to where they even began to take requests. With another day behind them, the students returned to their dorms, exhausted, but happy, wondering what tomorrow would bring.

* * *

** Author's Note: **

So...a few things XD

I fully admit that this is the most "fan-fic" chapter of the lot, but I nevertheless did it all for a reason past fluff. The primary point of course was to show the characters finally able to relax and enjoy themselves. I've mentioned this before, but one of the major problems with _RWBY_ in regards to character development, is that they don't spend time together outside of "plot". It makes it very hard to believe that they're friends, so having scenes like these, especially given that they're teenagers, is important. I've unfortunately come across a number of _RWBY_ fans who greatly disagree with me, claiming that moments like these are for "shit slice-of-life anime" and " _RWBY_ is about fighting, not emotions". I shouldn't have to say how profoundly dumb and depressing that is to hear, but that is bull-crap on every level. Bloody simpletons.

The next part is the casual wear for the characters. I must confess that it took me hours to put together each outfit for Teams RWBY and JNPR. It honestly took me less time to design armour and heraldic achievements. I don't know if that says something about me personally, having a better eye for gear than I do for regular clothes, or because I'm a man and clothes should be either cool or functional, but I did my best.

Then we have the songs. I've gotten back into country music during the past five years, and decided to look around at the modern stuff. I can't say I'm totally thrilled, but when I stumbled across "Ain't Here to Talk" by Jake Owens, I belly laughed. I honestly thought of how to incorporate it into the story, and I think I did fairly well. Of course, you'll be the judges of that, but I found it too good to pass up. The same goes for Team SSSN's song, which is a parody of Alestorm's "Mexico".

And then we have the special guest appearance of Oscar. Hey, Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov, remember when I said that I didn't ship Ruby with anyone? *picks up guitar* I LIIIIIIIIED! Right! Let's talk about RoseGarden, shall we? I really like RoseGarden on paper. I think that a cute, good hearted, country boy, would be a great match for Ruby. The problem of course, is that Oscar is a disappointing disaster. Now, as a country kid myself, I'm very disappointed on how that background doesn't shape his character in any way; making him tough or good with guns for example. And while that is a large part to Oscar's blandness, there is the major issue of Ozma eating his soul. That is what kills RoseGarden dead in the water; because Oscar is turning into Ozma. Not only is that creepy, a thousand year old man with an underage girl (and confirms that Yang is a terrible sister in not noticing her sister crushing on Oscar), is that it raises many questions. Does Oscar truly have feelings for her, or is Ozma puppetting him to keep him from panicking over losing himself? Well, that topic was abandoned from the get-go with Oscar, which was a major red flag for me in V4.

Putting that aside, I find that Oscar is such a wasted opportunity. For me, RoseGarden writes itself, where you could have had Ruby be Oscar's guide, them bonding over leaving their parents behind (aunt in his case) as well as firearms, and having Ozpin give Oscar dating advice while Yang does the same for Ruby. As for his training, I thought it was painfully obvious to make him a magical gunslinger/cowboy, but given that I haven't even been able to find fanart, means that I'm either alone or the fanbase is beyond dead.

This is of course why I spent a great amount of time developing him and his abilities. And since we're here, I might as well cover it. You know Diego's weapons? Reina de Rosas Rojas (Queen of Red Roses) and Rey de Espinas Negras (King of Black Thorns)? Those are Oscar's. I mentioned before that Diego was in invention for DDCT, as his spot on Team LION was meant for Wilhelm. I invented Diego to show off his weapons, which were meant for Oscar. In my full rewrite, after Oscar and Sam separate, Oscar is left greatly weakened, and in need of developing his own style and weapon. Weiss then decides to train him herself, thus making him a duelist with both the sword and the gun. He obviously trains to be a wizard of course, but his style revolves around the duelist archetype, taking inspiration from Zorro, Little Joe Cartwright, and Luke Skywalker. His weapons were then made by Freki, though he comes up with the names (though he goes with Italian because I think it sounds better).

This is why I call my version of RoseGarden, "Guns&Roses".

And at last, we have Olivier dropping a bomb on the kids. This was to show that there is a difference between students and fully trained Huntsmen. The show couldn't give a rat's ass on the matter, so I took great care in showing that our characters need to train hard. The road is indeed very long, and it will take time for them to be ready. The show has no sense of pacing whatsoever, rushing everything from world-building, to character development, to plot, to emotional growth, etc. I can't stand that nonsense, as you cannot rush art. As I keep saying, do it right or not at all.

And while we're here, let's have some fun in sharing other songs that work for the couples:

Boop: "Thunder Thighs" by Ted Nugent.

BlackSun: "Animals" by Manowar.

Iceberg: "Baby, It's Cold Outside" by Dean Martin and "Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel.

Guns&Roses: "Wild Irish Rose", "Little Bitty" by Alan Jackson, "Take me Home, Country Roads" by John Denver.

Everyone: "Rose Tattoo" by Dropkick Murphys.

And that's it for this chapter, so cheers and see you next time.

Oh yeah, chapter 10. James is finally crazy which means he'll die soon, Jaune still doesn't care, Nora and Ren are still broken, and Cinder is even more likely to get away with Pyrrha's murder. I need a drink...


End file.
